This is a guest blog! Our friend Leslie Hoellger - military family member and Sierra Club Military Outdoors Volunteer Outings coordinator - came up with a great list of ways to keep stress down while indoors.
Although we can’t enjoy the great outdoors together, this is a vital time to continue to nourish our connection with each other and with the beauty of the natural world. While we remain in our homes to stay physically healthy, I wanted to share some things which I have found to be helpful in staying hopeful. Please feel free to share what you have been doing for your well-being!
Thanks, Leslie! Good for pandemics or just getting through a rough winter, bringing a sense of outside in can be therapeutic. Got an idea for a blog? Send us an email at hello@pathfinder.vet
Although we can’t enjoy the great outdoors together, this is a vital time to continue to nourish our connection with each other and with the beauty of the natural world. While we remain in our homes to stay physically healthy, I wanted to share some things which I have found to be helpful in staying hopeful. Please feel free to share what you have been doing for your well-being!
1) Choose beautiful nature screen savers on your devices. Imagine yourself in that setting – the sights, sounds, smells, the way things feel to the touch, the types of food you eat and how they taste when you’re in that place. Change it up periodically to include the variety of natural spaces that you enjoy.
2) Spend time just looking out the window – just looking at a tree or flower or grass gives us many of the benefits of being outdoors. Try to notice something new each time. You can draw and/or write about your observations if you like.
3) Always remember the power of a smile to make yourself and others feel connected as you social distance walk.
4) Try to spend as much time watching or listening to something positive or funny as you spend watching the news.
5) Never underestimate the power of breathing! When I start to feel particularly anxious or worried, I stop what I’m doing/thinking and begin to inhale peace, exhale gratitude for someone or something in my life. Repeat as needed.
6) Keeping a gratitude journal is a wonderful way to stay focused on all the good things and good people in your life. You can write, draw, illustrate, color, anything goes.
7) Watch nature shows.
8) To bring the outdoors in, create a playlist of nature sounds that bring you peace and tranquility.
9) We all have something to teach and much to learn…. Thinks about what you’re good at and try to come up with ways to share your gifts and talents with others. These unprecedented times demand great resourcefulness and creativity to maintain a sense of purpose and meaning. Let’s find ways to still be helpful to others while we take care of ourselves.