Nature - A Gateway To Presence

How walks outside can change how you look at life

I hope this finds all 113 of you well this Sunday! If you’re reading this and know someone that might be interested in this growing community of humans looking to thrive share A&T with them!

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This week I find myself writing to you all from Breckenridge, Colorado, and have found that the great outdoors dramatically increases my feeling of being present.

I Think Time Outdoors Is A Necessary Component Of Well-Being

In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous. — Aristotle

Isabella and I have wanted to spend some time outside of NY for a while now, but at the same time, we were not too keen on letting go of our apartment since we like where we live. As a result, we decided we would try to sublease our place, and if it worked out great if it did not work out, also great.

Fortunately, we found a sub-tenant who took over back in March and have been spending some time with family and exploring. After spending a month in Miami we now find ourselves in Breckenridge. The goal in getting out here to Colorado was to spend some time near some mountains and trees.

We certainly have found nature, but interestingly enough we have found a lot more than that - a heightened sense of presence, a stillness internally, and a greater feeling of well-being.

Breckenridge - Sallie Miner Trail

Breckenridge has confirmed for me a feeling I've had since Baja, which is that nature unlocks our natural mindfulness, helping us become more present, more tuned into the here and now, and generally providing us with a heightened sense of well-being.

The Science Shows Us That Being In Nature Is Meditative

The earth has music for those who listen. — William Shakespeare

You are all well aware at this point of how important I think mindfulness is to living well 🙂. Mindfulness practices are some of the best ways to increase your levels of presence and get you out of your own head. Increased levels of presence and awareness are correlated with tons of improvements in well-being, mental health, and a bunch of other stuff related to human flourishing.

Mindfulness Practices Can Be Tough To Pick Up - Picking up a new habit though is a pain, and a lot of people don't gravitate towards things like meditation, journaling, or even breathwork. I've had tons of people reach out and say this sounds great but I'm just not going to do it. I'm with you. There is already plenty of stuff that is important in our lives and if something does not feel right then it's probably not worth adding.

I Have Found That Noticing Nature Is An Easy Way To Feel Awesome - I've found that nature is an epic, active tool, you can add to your mindfulness arsenal. After my time in Baja, I had a feeling that nature has to have a massive impact on your well-being and that its effects had definitely been studied. Coming to Breckenridge made and being immersed in nature has made me want to dive deeper. Turns out there is strong evidence for the impact of nature on your well-being.

Paying Attention To Nature Has A Massive Impact On Well-Being - This is not well understood yet but being in nature reduces stress, anxiety, depression. In a Harvard research study, they compared people that were active in an urban setting vs. people that were active in a more natural setting and found that the latter had lower activity in the pre-frontal cortex - which is incredibly active during rumination - i.e. when you spend time endlessly thinking about stuff. Turns out, looking at some trees, gets you out of your own head and makes you happier.

Scottsdale - Sonoran Desert

How I Have Started To Tap Into Nature

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. — Lao Tzu

I've started taking daily walks in the AM before I do anything for about an hour (thanks Ron) and it's an extraordinary exercise in mindfulness. I've even wrangled Isabella into doing it with me now and I think there's no turning back - it's here to stay as a habit.

Nature Is Awe-Inspiring - The reason it's become so important to us is when you're surrounded by giant mountains or even when you're in NY walking alongside the Hudson it's hard not to be impacted by the magnificence of nature. The fact that it works, the fact that it is hilariously unconcerned with what we're doing, and the scale of it all is just jaw-dropping.

Nature Helps You Pay Attention - When you take a walk early in the morning or in a more isolated part of the world it’s easier to pay attention since everything is so calm. You start to take notice a ton of different things - trees stretching high up into the sky, the morning banter of animals, the sound of rushing water, or the sharp, cold breath of the wind on your face.

Being In Nature Makes My Worries Feel Smaller - When you’re out in nature, paying attention, it starts to become obvious how much life exists around you. This is a humbling realization for me because it's a reminder that we're just a tiny speck in this vast universe, and our concerns, however important to us, are also tiny in comparison to the world.

This reminder is important because it helps me to walk a little more lightly, knowing I'm just a small part of a much broader whole.

Nature Wakes Us Up - As a result, I’m convinced nature is a natural remedy to our rumination and endless thinking. Simply by being outside and taking it in, you spend more time outside your own head, and in the world. Nature, at its core, helps us wake up and come back to the present moment.

Breckenride - Illionois Creek Trail

You Can Find Nature Anywhere

Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is one thing that Ron, a friend I made in Baja, said to me that consistently resonates - "It is always available to you" - he said this in reference to nature and more broadly the peacefulness associated with being in it.

Nature Is Always Available To You - He's so right about that - it's always available to you. Most of the people reading this newsletter are in big cities, but if you step outside you can likely find some water, some grass, some trees, some sun, some hills, or something natural in most cases.

Even In Urban Environments, The Science Backs Up Nature’s Effects - Additionally, the benefits of paying attention to your natural surroundings, no matter how small (i.e. your houseplant), are proven. In another study, participants were split into groups. One was asked to focus on their natural surroundings and the other group was asked to go about their day - business as usual.

The group asked to focus on their natural surrounding reported significantly higher levels of happiness. What is even more incredible is the definition of nature used in this research study included things like a houseplant, a bird, a dandelion growing in the crack of a sidewalk, or even just the sun streaming in through the window.

This is remarkable because it drives Ron’s point home, “it’s always available to you”, meaning experiencing the mindful effects of nature is available to everyone in their everyday life, no matter where they are in the world.

Tap Into Mindfulness Wherever You Are In The World - Whatever you have available to you it is very likely enough to tap into that mindfulness and peacefulness we've talked about. Personally my walks in NY, in Miami, in Baja, and now in Breckenridge, all do the same thing for me (not going to lie though Breckenridge has been on another level), which is to bring me back to the present moment, instill a sense of calmness in me, and create a sense of awe and wonder that generally makes me happier and more excited to be alive.

If you're not into the whole meditation or breathwork or journaling thing maybe consider stepping outside to start your morning or take a walk as a break in your afternoon.

As Ron says, it's always available to you and I've been blown away by how something so simple has been so impactful to how I feel.

“The lover of nature is [s]he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of [wo]manhood.” - Emerson

Breckenridge - Lake Dillon

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To Living Well,

Alvaro