The Tonic of Wildness

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. National and international news stories bombard our minds. The needs of those near and far call to us. Daily there are new stressors which so easily accumulate and add to feeling inundated. We exist in and are part of the community which surrounds us, pressing needs and all. How do we find balance, living with empathy as our guide yet finding ways to ameliorate the inevitable sense of being overwhelmed? 

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “We need the tonic of wildness.” A tonic is defined as ‘something that invigorates, refreshes, or restores physical or mental strength.’ Thoreau also suggested we retreat to the woods to experience the healing power of nature. He would say "silence is a balm for every chagrin", that walking in "brute nature" soothes the soul. 

In this season, the bright chartreuse of young leaves and the delicately-colored blossoms on the forest floor remind us that spring is a good time to celebrate renewal. And a good time to focus on caring for our own mental health by engaging with all that nature has to offer. The peace and stability we can derive by being in the moment and reconnecting with nature help us be able to care for the living and non-living around us.  

It is in taking time out of our busy schedules to slow down, finding a bit of nature near or far to stop and truly see, hear, and touch the more-than-human world that we find solace and are renewed to face another day. Research abounds to substantiate the positive effects of spending time in nature. Taking time to care for oneself by reconnecting with nature is not only recommended, it is critical if we are to regain and maintain health and a spark of light and life to offer to the world in dark times.