Wanderlust
October 1, 2019
Popular on signs and t-shirts these days, the idea of having “wanderlust” is intriguing to me. But I can’t help but wonder…
Why do I have it?
I thought I could come up with a direct answer, but it turns out I can’t. In other words, I’m not sure why, but I know it’s stirred in me with increasing intensity over the years.
Anyone else have this feeling?
Critics say it’s a way to escape the world, to avoid commitments, and to simply have fun. With wanderlust, they say, nothing significant is accomplished. Further, some even claim wanderlust is caused by a specific gene (DRD4-7R).
Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but I have not seen these drawbacks when I give in to wanderlust. On the other hand, I do experience the benefits associated with it. Those benefits include…
- An increased social network
- An increase in openness, agreeableness, and emotional ability
- Increased creativity.
With this new season in my life (i.e., empty nest), the wanderlust that has always existed for me seems amplified. I feel ready to expand my boundaries.
Can anyone relate?
Spiritual Restoration
August 15, 2017
Health Benefits of Nature
Research shows that spending time in and near nature has a significant positive impact on a person’s quality of life. Business Insider actually lists eleven ways nature does this.
- Improved memory
- Improved mental energy
- Stress relief
- Better vision
- Reduced inflammation
- Improved concentration
- Sharper thinking & creativity
- Anti-cancer possibility
- Immunity boost
- Better mental health
- Less chance of dying early
Sitting on my deck under a shade tree. Going for a walk or jog at least once daily. Regular bike rides. Kayaking. Hiking. Just some of the ways I’ve learned the truth behind what this research shows.
Ecological Restoration
Our connection with nature goes beyond the health benefits it brings though. In fact, nature can actually teach us some valuable ways to amplify the above benefits. It can also show us how to use them to restore us from a damaged state.
One of those ways is through the concept of ecological restoration. If you visit public parks or nature centers, you’ve likely come across this term on a sign or in a brochure at some point. Ecological restoration is…
“The practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action.” (Ecological Restoration Alliance)
The goal of ecological restoration is to revive the native habitat and its ecological functioning. Examples include:
- Removing or controlling non-native plants & wildlife
- Erosion control measures
- Reintroduce or reinforce native species
- Controlled fires to promote mature growth, limit insect growth & prevent disease
Ecological restoration is “intentional activity that initiates or accelerates recovery.” The purpose is to restore the ecosystem to what it was before it was disturbed or to an improved state from what it was previously.
An ecosystem usually needs restoration when humans have in some way negatively altered it. Those ways include littering, pollution and even destruction in some way.
I realized that I often feel like I need the type of restoration described here. I sometimes feel like I’ve been destroyed or damaged by my culture and just life in general enough that I need to take deliberate steps to stop the damage and discover and/or create a restored state.
Essentially, ecological restoration boils down to removing negative elements and influences and placing in positive ones. Sometimes, that includes using what at first seems detrimental — fires for instance — to clean out those bad elements to allow the good ones room to flourish.
Is that really any different from what God wants to do for us?
Spiritual Restoration
Everyone needs spiritual restoration to some degree from time to time. From outright moral failure to neglecting time with God because of busyness to an unexplainable dry season, we all need some sort of intentional activity to aid in our continual restoration.
Fortunately, Scripture contains a slew of wisdom for the purpose of our spiritual restoration. And since we can’t go into detail on all of what it offers here — it is living and active after all (Hebrews 4:12) — we’ll focus on a few passages that emphasize nature’s overall role in the process.
“On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.” (Psalm 145:5)
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all of these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10)
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26)
Nature tells us about God. It lets us know who He is and what He’s capable of doing based on what He’s already done. And this knowledge lies at the heart of any type of restoration we need.
Research on the health benefits of nature really just supports what Scripture already tells us. Nature, God’s creation, connects us with him in ways that give our lives vitality like nothing else can. It restores like nothing else can. We only need to expose ourselves to it.
“I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.” (George Washington Carver)
Learn To Single-Task Again
November 8, 2016
In 2010, I crashed and burned mentally. The official diagnosis involved adrenal fatigue, and many factors led to my state of exhaustion.
One of the biggest involved having too many commitments and going in too many directions. A constantly-divided focus led to a state of overwhelm and overload.
To recover and heal, I gave up a lot of poor habits and replaced them with healthier ones. That’s the only way to really heal from adrenal fatigue.
One area needing a major overhaul involved my belief in multitasking as an operating system. The Toxic Impact of Multitasking needed eliminated. Its replacement? Learning to single-task again.
The Brain’s Desire
Our brains want to think deeply and creatively. As any multi-tasker knows, neither is possible with any consistency when your brain tries to focus on a multitude of different tasks at the same time. Instead, we end up reacting to life and living only a surface-level existence.
But, as Sandra Bond Chapman, Ph.D., tells Forbes, with concerted effort…
Anyone can leave the “chaotic addiction of multitasking behind” and see “immediate and immense” benefits as well as an increase in creativity, energy and focus.
I’m living proof of this truth.
Single Tasking Habits
In addition to recommending adequate rest and exercise, Chapman gives three steps to reestablish single-tasking as a habit.
- Give your brain down time. Build in breaks throughout your day, and be sure to take at least a yearly extended break (called a vacation in case it’s been so long you forgot). Like a muscle, our brains need time to rest and recuperate. Ever feel like you make poorer decisions as the day goes on? We must choose to combat Decision Fatigue if we have any hope of not falling prey to its talons of dumb… bad… stupid… decisions.
- Focus deeply & eliminate distractions. Just like a person can’t go from couch to 5k instantly, deep focus needs worked up to as well. I certainly recognize that distractions find us all too easily. But with practice, we can develop the ability to focus deeply and attract fewer distractions. The more you reduce multitasking, the more you’ll excel at focusing.
- Make a to-do list. A to-do list kept a crash and burn at bay for many years and keeps me from regressing more often still today. Not only a tool to promote focus, a to-do list is also a terrific way to track progress. Remember too that you’ll get better at making and using to-do lists as you perfect what works best for you.
Commit to Change
Make a choice to break your multitasking addiction and instead to work toward a singe-tasking life. Be stubbornly determined to do so. Once the benefits begin, your belief in what Chapman claims and what my own experiences show, will increase.
As with any change, commit to it to make it work. Alter daily habits and admit that the way you’re working now isn’t the best option and that maybe you can trust the example of those who have gone before you on this journey.
Cultivate Your Creativity, Part 1 of 2
September 17, 2012
What is creativity?
Let’s start by saying what creativity is not. First, it’s not a talent that some people have and some people do not. It’s also not limited to those in the visual and performing arts or to just one field or activity. Creativity is not a quirky tendency or a genetic trait.
Instead, creativity is simply seeing the world differently than others. It’s solving problems that others seem unable to solve, seeing solutions that others couldn’t see. Today, creativity is better known as innovation. More importantly, creativity is an attitude and a skill, a practiced state of mind that everyone can develop.
In 52 Ways to Get Your Creative Self to Listen
Why is creativity important for everyone?
Every person has constraints they must work within, a poet who must stick to rhyme or a scientist bound by the laws of physics, and working within these constraints can often breed great creativity. Dr. Seuss writing Green Eggs and ham using only 50 words provides a terrific example of creativity that may not have happened without constraints.
Another benefit is that cultivating creativity in any area tends to spill over into all other areas of life. Not only that, but being creative fulfills a need within all humans to create. Not feeling the creative urge? Many experts believe we’ve been taught to suppress it, and this is why we no longer actively feel the need to create. Picasso expressed this sentiment well when he said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when we grow up.”
Creativity is also important because it allows our intellects to flourish. If we keep in mind that just as physically and spiritually we are what we eat, our intellects are also the products of what we feed them.
Finally, the importance of creativity shows even more when we realize that our creativity is how we respond to life. Stimulating creativity can potentially lessen negative emotional responses to life’s frustrations and disappointments.
How are you creative?
So knowing that everyone can cultivate creativity and that creativity provides immense benefit, let’s now consider the different ways creativity might show up from one individual to the next.
Since creativity is not a predetermined personality trait, it really can show up in a myriad of ways in a person’s life. The challenge then is to figure out how to get that creativity to show up, and the answer, simply, is effort.
Milton Glaser, legendary graphic designer, fully believes that there are no true creative types “as if creative people can just show up and make stuff up. As if it were that easy. I think people need to be reminded that creativity is a verb, a very time-consuming verb. It’s about taking an idea in your head, and transforming that idea into something real, and that’s always going to be a long and difficult process. If you’re doing it right, it’s going to feel like work.”
The post How to… Cultivate Your Creativity, Part 2 of 2 discuss suggestions for cultivating creativity with 5 ways to feed your intellect and promote innovation.
DISCUSSION: How do you feel about the status of your creativity?
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