Recently, I discovered a great way to use our smart phones to enhance our well-being and our ability to stay mindfully present.
I follow a blog from
Charlene Costanzo, a best-selling author and soul sister I met a few years ago. We are so like-minded it's spooky. She shared an article a few weeks back that I feel inspired to share with you.
About two years ago, Canadian researchers proved that when we take time to notice even the smallest elements of nature, our well-being increases substantially. They had a group of people take daily photos of natural elements and a control group shooting daily photos of man-made elements. You can read more about the study and the results
here.
“The difference in participants’ well-being [for the group who photographed nature]— their happiness, sense of elevation, and their level of connectedness to other people, not just nature — was significantly higher than participants in the group noticing how human-built objects made them feel,” said Passmore (lead researcher).
Previous studies have shown that we generally feel better in nature than in a man-made environment, but most studies have focused on instant gratification. This study demonstrated the cumulative effect of making a daily habit of being a "noticer" of nature.
Consider yourself challenged! Starting today, I challenge you to take one photo a day for the next two weeks of anything that isn't man-made. It could be rain, a tree, a leaf, a squirrel or even a weed pushing its way up through concrete. Every day, look for something in nature that delights you, calms you or inspires you.
There is no pressure to create an award-winning photograph with perfect exposure and composition. I'm pretty sure that would defeat the purpose, so no stressing allowed. Just capture what brings you joy or some other positive emotion and post it in our
FTG Facebook Readers Group. If you're willing, tell us how an object made you feel.
With a little intention, we can become a lot more observant, peaceful and fulfilled. I'll be sharing my challenge daily and I look forward to seeing yours too.
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If you're local, check out the annual
Learn Grow Connect Conference for Women coming up on Friday, November 1st. I'll be giving an inspirational keynote at lunch. Need books for holiday gifts? I'm doing a book signing afterward. The event is hosted by the
Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Nissan America. Click the link above for all the details.
Registration ends this Friday, October 25th so grab your spot ASAP for this all-day event.
