My daily Vitamin “N”

I love my public radio stations, but too often the message is doom-and-gloom, and frankly, it’s stressful. Who needs a reminder of what’s going wrong in the world?  Richard Louv, on the other hand, during a recent radio interview, soothed my spirit as he proselytized on the benefits available to all of us with a regular dose of Vitamin “N” (for Nature). Even the title of his latest book, The Nature Principle: Human Restoration and the End of Nature-Deficit-Disorder, has a hopeful spin.

I love the idea of fresh, clean produce. So it was a real treat to be able to go blueberry picking at an organic farm with a friend last week. All the while, humming to myself about the hefty dose of Vitamin “N” that was part of the deal.

I like the idea of easing bits of nature into my everyday life, rather than pretending I’m going to go hiking on the weekend.  (Not going to happen — or if it does, only rarely.) Puttering in the garden, or dead-heading and watering my window boxes, certainly qualify as communing with nature, but I know I need more than that. Foraging for blueberries — even if they are someone else’s cultivated bushes — felt just right and put me in a glorious mood for the rest of the day.
And the bonus is, we’ve been munching on these beauties all week!

Just like Artist Dates, I think I need a list of Nature Dates. Would love to hear your ideas on how you incorporate the natural world into your life. Do tell!