As aging adults, we’ve heard expert upon expert espouse theory upon theory about how one becomes happy. As it turns out, doing a little outdoor reconnoitering might actually be the “magic happiness pill” we’ve all been looking for.
The benefits of nature are well researched and documented. Most people now understand that experiencing nature contributes to the mental development, health and overall happiness of people of all ages.
And while modern research has provided us with unequivocal facts, for many, these statistical truths do not carry the same influence to inspire us to act as say, a simple, well-stated quote. Fortunately, the benefits of experiencing nature have been touted by authors, poets, activists and philosophers throughout human history.
Our most esteemed minds have been some of the most outspoken advocates of the necessity of human interaction with natural surroundings. Renowned author e. e. cummings, for example, once spoke these wonderful words: “The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.”
Here are some more gems about nature from our greatest thinkers…
…about the benefits of using nature as a teacher:
“Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher.” – William Wordsworth
“And this, our life… finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.” – William Shakespeare
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” – John Lubbock
“Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed… a morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books.” – Walt Whitman
“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.” – John Lubbock
“Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books.” – George Washington Carver
…about how nature connects us with our natural world:
“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” – William Shakespeare
“The good man is the friend of all living things.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” – Khalil Gibran
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” – John Muir
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” - Albert Einstein
…about the healing qualities of nature:
“I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” - John Burroughs
“To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment.” - Jane Austen
“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
…about nature’s ability to inspire:
“In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” – Aristotle
“To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.” – Helen Keller
“For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.” – Martin Luther
“Flowers are the sweetest things God ever made and forgot to put a soul into.” – Henry Ward Beecher
“Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” – Hans Christian Andersen
“Land really is the best art.” – Andy Warhol
If neither the research and statistics nor the sage wisdom of some of humanity’s best minds can convince you of the importance of experiencing nature, then consider this question from early 20th-century English author E. M. Forster: “What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?”