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ISSUE #54

DESIGN & NATURE REIMAGINED

MARISA MORBY​

This week's newsletter is different because this week has been different. I've been traveling pretty heavily the past few weeks, first to San Francisco for a tech conference called GitHub Universe and then to Berlin for a creative technology conference called Beyond Tellerand, where I got to see some of the cutest robots ever.​​

I find conferences and community a huge source of support and connection, so it felt especially good to be here during an absolutely gutting election cycle. Being surrounded by friends and community and creativity has been not only a welcome distraction, but a source of inspiration.

Today I want to talk about how nature helps us work through hard things and find connection at times when we feel as though the world is falling apart around us or maybe falling apart on us.

Many years ago, I was in a bad marriage with emotional abuse. My memory started to suffer and I was in a constant state of fight or flight. After particularly explosive nights I would wake up, somewhere between waking and dreaming, having a nightmare about a horrible situation. Only upon fully waking would I remember that the event had actually happened and I would feel my stomach sink and the nausea rise up. Wednesday felt like that for so many of us. And while being away from home and at a truly amazing conference with smart and kind creatives, one thing that I really noticed was I missed my neighborhood park.

I felt like I needed to go for a walk in the trees. I was surrounded by all this concrete in a bustling city but what I really wanted was a walk by my favorite Big Leaf Maple, I needed to sit on the overlook bench and just stare at the city. Nature always seems to give me the space and silence to reflect. Our bodies want to be out near sun, water, wind, and trees.

The Japanese have been given credit for coining the term for forest bathing, called shinrin-yoku, that involves a mindful and meditative walk through nature. But many cultures inherently understand and foster this connection with the world around us. There is a Scandinavian practice called Friluftsliv, which translates to open-air living. It pushes people to go and spend time outside regardless of the weather and to get fresh air and exercise.

And being outside, even in a local park, literally can make us feel better. Being out in a forest for a couple of hours can increase expression of anti-cancer proteins in your blood by up to 50%. The walk itself is also really helpful for stress reduction just by getting more exercise and moving your body.

Walks in nature always make me feel calmer, just like gardening. Researchers are finding that touching the soil with bare hands, like when planting, can decrease your stress and anxiety. This is likely due to Mycobacterium vaccae a bacteria found in soil. Past research shows that exposure to this bacteria can increase serotonin, improving mood, and producing a long lasting anti-inflammatory effect on the brain.​

We experience despair when we've lost all hope. There is an urge to withdraw, to hide, and to give up. I know that fear sometimes grips me and my mind starts running at 100mph about what might happen and before I know it I've created a really terrifying story. But we only have what we can control today. So take a walk, appreciate the trees, maybe plant a flower. I don't know how things will be tomorrow, but I can choose how things will be now, in this moment.

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