ACHIEVING HARMONY & BALANCE WITH NATURE THE HARMONY OF NATURE AND YOU Y ou don’t have to look deeply to see the by Teresa Siqueira
you’re renting or living in a more urban area, you can still do many things to facilitate a personal green space. Green spaces are great opportu- nities to get your family members involved in reconnecting with nature, especially children who benefit immensely from this harmony. Backyards are the perfect place to create a green space because much of what you need is already available, like a water or energy source, and many backyards are a blank slate. Go big by installing a pond, waterfall, or stream. Make sure you use eco-friendly materials and methods to keep the water clean, like aquatic plants and fish that eat algae. A water feature can double as a wildlife habitat for fish and attract other local animals like frogs, lizards, and birds. Kids will be especially fascinated by animals around a water feature, but they’ll also go nuts for a treehouse. You can even build one without
RENOVATING AT HOME Where you spend most of your time should be the place you have the most balance and peace. Even if you aren’t a homebody and spend your time mostly at work or being social, your home is where you have the most control and where you can ground yourself. What you’re going to do is create something called a green space. Studies have shown that access to a green space promotes longer life by reducing air pollution, lessening heat concentration, and giving oppor- tunities for physical activity. Creating a green space will provide you with a home base to return to and find harmony. What you can create depends on the space you have available, the time you may need to put into it, and your financial ability. If you own your own home, an extensive renovation project can be worthwhile and even add value in some cases. If
harmony and balance that exists within our natural world. The way plants, animals, and ecosystems synchronize to thrive is nothing short of a miracle. Even when that balance is dis- rupted, they quickly adapt to return to equilibri- um. Although it may not seem like it in the world we live in today, it is instinctual for us as humans to fall in line with the ebb and flow of nature. The nature of your environment heavily influ - ences the way you live your life, and it requires a large amount of effort to resist its pull. The easiest way to understand why humans need nature is to look at how we sleep. People are active in the daytime and recharge at night, but not all living things are the same. Nocturnal animals are equipped with the eye structure to support seeing in low or no light. Humans don’t have that and are built to thrive in the daytime. Our natural energy sources can maintain us for
the same amount of time that the sun is up, and the healthy amount of sleep we need is the same length of time it is dark at night. When we fight this circadian rhythm, we experience agitation, fatigue, brain fog, negative mood, lack of moti- vation, and a decreased outlook on life. To be in sync is sustainable. CREATE YOUR SPACE FOR YOU So, since we’re talking about getting back to nature, what does that look like for the individu- al? Of course, as humans with such unique lives, a supportive environment can look a little differ- ent from person to person. Let’s explore.
107 MAY/JUNE 2022 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
106 SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • MAY/JUNE 2022
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