Touching Grass: a Step by Step Guide

I lived in the city of Assen for a bit. Its province is famous for the nature surrounding it, but when I looked out of my apartment, all I could see was a sea of grey buildings—not a single tree in sight. No birds singing outside of my window, no owls advertising their territories. When I went for a walk to try to keep up with my 10k steps a day goal, I had to walk quite a bit to see a little bit of greenery to spark that joy of nature inside of me. Why am I telling you this? Partly just because I'm still a bit salty about it, but mostly because this is a perfect example of how we as humans have become detached from nature. But have we really? Is this a bad thing? How can I touch more grass? Don't worry, fellow greenery enjoyer, I'm gonna tell you all about it in this article.

Let me start off by saying that I'm not gonna be spewing scientific information in your face. I think this topic is also being discussed by people much smarter than me, and there are a lot of great sources out there that actually look at the scientific data available. I just want to share my perspective on the matter, discuss my experiences, thoughts, reflections, and hopefully inspire you to stop and enjoy the flowers on the side of the bike lane every now and then.

Have we become detached from nature?

So, have we lost our roots to nature? To answer this, let's take a look at history. Back in the day, enormous corporations like supermarkets weren't a thing, and food delivery services weren't invented yet—I think. It would be cool if, for example, in ancient Greece, you got bread and olives delivered on a four-wheeled cart pulled by an ox.

We had to cultivate our own food, or at least buy it from a local farmer, and prepare everything from scratch. Minute-ready microwave meals? Sorry dear, don't know her. This allowed us to be much closer connected to the food we ate, which in turn brings us much closer to all the beautiful things nature can provide for us.

Our living situations changed a lot too. Sure, big cities have existed since the dawn of humanity, and small villages are still a thing today. However, I think it's fair to say that with the amount of people that are living on earth right now, the majority of people aren't living in a house surrounded by gardens, forests, trees, and so forth. We mostly live in densely populated areas, in big apartment blocks. It's hard to ground yourself when you're living six flights up.

The positive benefits of being connected with nature

Is this necessarily a bad thing? Well, dear reader, I'm of the opinion that it is. A deep connection with nature is one of the most valuable things we as humans can have. There is plenty of research pointing towards nature having an enormous impact on improving mental health. Taking a walk through a forest is quite literally therapy for your mind, and soul if you believe in that stuff.

Living closer in line with nature also implies being physically outside—unless you have a room full of houseplants, but even then there is still merit to going outside. I mention this, since physical activity has also drastically gone down over the past few decades. Caring for your potatoes, picking strawberries from the fields, even just taking a walk through the forest. I actually drove through a forest once with my car—not the same experience, wouldn't recommend it. Living in line with nature not only nurtures our minds, but it also keeps us in shape.

This whole being physically outside thing has more positives than we zoomers might give it credit for. I don't think it'll be a surprise when I say that we as humans are becoming more lonely, which is a subject I'll probably cover more in-depth in a future article. Thankfully, being outside, having our anxiety levels lowered, letting our mood be heightened by the subtle breeze that touches our skin while seeing a sea of green, also lets us meet new people. Even if it's just a little chit-chat, or just saying hi, human interaction is a vital part of who we as humans are, and nature helps us not only connect to ourselves, but to our fellow humans.

Top 5 ways to connect with nature

With all this information on why touching grass is so important for us, let's look at my top 5 ways you can easily invite more nature into your life.

1. Take a walk

Sounds obvious, right? It is, but it's also something we're statistically not doing enough of. Research suggests that us Europeans walk a little over 5k steps a day on average, which isn't that bad, but it's also not great. As a side note, I believe people tend to forget the obvious: try taking a walk in a place where there is greenery. Search for a park, drive a little to your nearest forest (if you have one nearby).

2. Shop locally

And I don't mean 'support your local skate shop'—although that is still a good thing, but a topic for another day. Go to your local farmers market, visit local farms to shop for your veggies and fruits. Learn what's in season in your area, eat what nature is screaming at you to eat.

3. Reserve some time—if the weather allows it—to read a book outside

Aside from the general positive benefits reading gives us, it's a perfect opportunity to really experience the world around us, and be still for a moment. Maybe you're not actively engaged with your surroundings when reading a book, but you don't have to. You still hear birds chirping in the background. You still smell the scent of flowers blowing past your nose. You still feel the breeze on your skin.

4. Earthing (grounding)

This is probably the most 'spiritual' point in my list, but you should still try it if you're not into all of that stuff. Earthing, or grounding as some people call it, is the act of touching the ground (preferably grass) with your bare feet. The idea behind it is that your neurons merge with the energy of the earth and ground you in the here and now. Sounds vague, but I'd recommend giving it a try.

5. Breathe

Okay so what do I mean by this? Well exactly what it states: breathe. Take time to just inhale, exhale, and appreciate the things around you. Look up at the sky, see how the clouds are slowly travelling. Look out your window, observe what beauty there is in this world. Nature is all around us, if you look for it.

Wrapping up

And with that last point I want to wrap up this article. I hope you're equipped with some more knowledge on how we as humans can feel more connected with the world around us. Even in big grey cities like Assen, there is nature to be found, and a way for us to connect with it. I'm just really glad I can finally see trees again when I look out my window.