When not on one of the many beaches, a simple fountain fills our home with falling water coming thru the open windows. Sitting on the patio reading a book is a temporary substitute for the waves.
How much time being outdoors is enough? Does fifteen minutes recharge your mind? An hour? Or hours each day? Back when I was a kid, I spent every moment I could outdoors. When not in school, or eating, or sleeping, I was outside. I remember losing several of the kids in the neighborhood to a new show called “The Brady Bunch”. I couldn’t understand why they would go inside just to watch TV. It was actually a couple of years before I realized “The Brady Bunch” wasn’t a western.
Now, how much time do your kids spend indoors? The book “The Last Child in the Woods” describes a generation of kids so helplessly plugged into the electronic world they have lost their connection to the natural world. The only trees they ever climb are contained within a video game. “Leave No Child Inside” is an initiative that tries to combat the naked mole rat generation. Myopia caused not only by excessive screen time, but by the physical effects on the human eyes from lack of sunlight.
And then there is the impact on the brain. Nature deficit syndrome… a real thing, with the scientific studies beginning to pour in.