"When your days are filled with nothing but the media's onslaught of messages, images, and must-see posts, it can feel good to take a breather. Maybe you've recently figured out a way to carve some "me-time" in this constant search for your attention from all of these online sources. You close your eyes, think about a recent pleasant encounter with a friend, and for one precious moment are transported away from reality."
"As generally understood, mindfulness is a cognitive skill that involves turning your attention to the present moment. Breaking it down further, the authors identify five components of mindfulness: observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity. In other words, mindfulness means that you let yourself take in details of outer stimuli, and when attending to your own thoughts, don't try to push them out of awareness, even if those thoughts are troubling."
Constant exposure to media messages and images creates a need for respite that nature can provide. Simple natural experiences such as watching a sunset, observing changing leaves, or tending a small plant can offer emotional reprieve. Presence with the living world, termed nature relatedness (NR), arises from mindful engagement rather than mere observation. Mindfulness comprises observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity. Mindful attention involves taking in external details and allowing internal thoughts to remain without pushing them away. Cultivating NR through these mindfulness skills links outer natural experiences to inner emotional benefits and stress reduction.
Read at Psychology Today
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