There is much to appreciate about the natural world, but for the student with a heavy workload, the benefits to mind and soul are in equal parts significant. From forests to mountains, lakes to gardens, from hikes to strolls, to taking in a view to tending plants, there are many opportunities for individuals of many walks of student life to engage with the outdoors. And as someone who has had the unbelievable opportunity to experience life in the United Kingdom’s Lake District in Cumbria – a place where a love of the great outdoors is near second to none – I am here to offer the case for inviting nature into your bustling, daily routine whatever form you may choose. What is more, these Cumbrian experiences can be replicated on Furman University’s campus – much to the delight of any student with the opportunity to study abroad. So here are some observed benefits of living in a place with significant, natural priority.
It takes no large understanding to conjure the benefits of engaging tangibly within a space for the physical body, but what of the mind? Imagine laying within a field, heart racing yet mind still – this is the focus the natural world can bring about. The pause to feel the trees surrounding you, to feel the cool of rock and the rhythm of water as you stand distantly lake-side. These are all experiences in Cumbria one can feel on Furman’s campus thanks to the privilege of being so close to a natural setting. This pause, this focus, contributes to increased creativity through the find the power to mentally recenter and find new angles to the challenges or concepts one may be tasked with facing. When in mental doubt, turn to nature. By taking breaks and going for a hike or even caring for an in-house plant, one can craft the important opportunity of clearing one’s mind, and approaching concepts – be they for small assignments or large projects from new, creative angles.
It is common to feel overwhelmed and overloaded by a full student schedule. Balancing a social life, extra-curriculars, and hobbies on top of it all can feel almost impossible. Unless one already enjoys plant-keeping, hiking, or outdoor meditation as a hobby, cutting an outdoors activity or making it an occasional event can feel like a must amidst the juggling of other responsibilities. But I implore you to imagine wading through ferns in the chilled fall air, or laying beneath the sun, feeling the warmth of noonday grass. Hustle culture can be hard to escape – especially for students on their grind toward meeting their life goals. This makes the endeavor to engage with the mountain air or greet a setting sun all the more necessary.
To exercise human autonomy and connect with an earthly environment when stress or ongoing world events can make life feel out of control is paramount to regaining a sense of focus and humanity. Engaging with nature can help facilitate this. It may be easy to forget how privileged so many of us are as students of Furman’s campus to be near hikeable forests and clean air. Being abroad and seeing so many styles of living – from concrete cities to forested slate villages – certainly opened my eyes to this fact. The ability to take time to recenter and merely exist within the calm of a natural space has been integral to managing stress and increasing effective productivity. So, I implore any and all who have perused this dear article and have yet to engage with the outdoors to make the natural world a significant priority within your everyday routine.
