• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close

Dig Bos

The Dig - Greater Boston's Alternative News Source

WELLNESS FOR DEGENERATES: LIFE IN THE FAST LANE

Written by JILLIAN LOCKE Posted October 22, 2014 Filed Under: Drinks, Eats

Our brains and our bodies are in a state of constant overdrive. When that happens, nature has a way of forcing us to slow down, chill out, and start noticing things again.

Like the nuances in our day to day that we take for granted. Say, the nice barista who knows exactly how you take your morning rocket fuel the moment you enter a tried-and-true cafe. Or the park you pass by on your way to work, which is looking particularly breathtaking this time of year. Even that text your best friend sent you quoting the “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” episode you watched together the previous night that left you both pissing your pants. These simple things are noteworthy.

They also help clear our minds. I went for a nature walk the other day. Sure, I should have been writing, cooking, cleaning, and a host of other things, but there was an internal restlessness keeping me from tending to any of these obligations. So I needed to get out. I drove to Horn Pond in Woburn, a two-mile stretch of Walden-esque wonderment boasting several even-woods-ier side trails. It was breezy and the air finally felt like fall after a long stretch of awkward, muggy days. I stepped onto the path and instantly felt better. Trading my bedroom walls for a carpet of leaves and the view outside my window for curtains of towering trees presented an instantaneous shift in mood and well-being. My blinders were off, so much so that I noticed some of my favorite birds, be it that crow with a wingspan so huge that I swear it must have been a turkey vulture (it may have been a raven), seven swans, a woodpecker, and a blue jay. While exploring a side trail, I saw a grey heron and stopped to observe it in solace. While standing in silence, I heard someone approaching and looked up to see a man walking briskly. He looked so content, like there was nothing he’d rather be doing at that moment. As he passed me, he saw what I was looking at, smiled and said, “patience.”

Patience. Stillness. Replacing the static din modern day life muddles our thoughts with via the calming resonance of nature. You have to remember to look around, or risk missing stuff like a soul-melting sunset that, for five brief minutes during a punishing commute home, can set our stresses free. It’s important to become quiet enough to feel the natural rhythm of our bodies, and listen to what they’re telling us, and then responding in kind (remember, our bodies change with the seasons, too).

Our internal clocks are getting ready to wind back and enjoy one more hour of sleep, so rather than fighting it, maybe we should try rolling with it and befriending the longer nights to purposefully reflect on the good, simple happenings of the day.

FURTHER WELLNESS READING

RAISING THE FLAG FOR ALL THINGS PUMPKIN

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING

THE SCOURGE OF LYME DISEASE

JILLIAN LOCKE
+ posts
    This author does not have any more posts.

Filed Under: Drinks, Eats Tagged With: audubon, bird watching, blue jay, daylight savings, degenerates, Dig Boston, DigBoston, it's always sunny in philadelphia, nature, patience, Pond, slow down, sunset, Wellness, Woburn

WHAT’S NEW

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Justice Department Completes Vetting Of Rachael Rollins

Justice Department Completes Vetting Of Rachael Rollins

AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”

AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”

Primary Sidebar

LOCAL EVENTS

AAN Wire


Most Popular

  • AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”
  • Over Yondr: Are Cell Phone Pouches At Shows Liberating, Dangerous, Or Annoying?
  • Deep Cuts Brings Sandwiches, Craft Beer, And Live Music To Medford
  • Family Of Woman Killed By Commuter Rail Sues MBTA For Crash Records
  • Daring Greatly: TikTok Star Alden McWayne (aka Gucci Pineapple) On Scheming And Dreaming

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an email blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: sales@digboston.com To reach editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): editorial@digboston.com