Most people will agree that getting out in nature makes you feel good. A number of studies have shown that nature not only makes you feel good but actually improves your health. Specifically, being in nature is well documented to increase energy, lower stress, increase happiness, improve sense of well being, and lower stress.

The benefits of nature even extend to a person’s values and actions. One study conducted by the University of Rochester included 370 participants who were exposed to either natural landscapes or artificial cityscapes. Those focused on natural elements valued community, close relationships, and were more generous. Those immersed in man-made settings admired fame and wealth. They were also less likely generous.

Interestingly, the researchers have found that looking at pictures of nature has similar effects. So, if you can’t get out into nature, bring nature to you.

A local artist, Cedar Lee, can help you do just that. Her artwork is mainly nature themes. “Whether I am painting a towering evergreen, a fall tree in vibrant reds and oranges, a stylized scene from a lotus pond, a happy sunflower, or an imaginary swirling cosmic landscape, my paintings are always about nature’s exhilarating beauty and the awe it inspires in me,” she says.

Her goal in painting is to “combine vivid color, light, composition, and content to create sincere, spiritual, lasting images that invoke the excitement we humans can feel at being a small part of something incredibly big and interconnected.”

Her pictures can be found at www.artbycedar.com.
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Drs. Julie and Bryan Walsh are Naturopathic Physicians in Ellicott City, MD and also charter members of Village Connector Community News. For more information visit www.rescuemyhealth.com.