Recently, my wife and I took a trip to Indonesia (you can read about that here). It was our first major trip out of the city in a while, and I had been feeling a little crappy up until that point, without a clue as to why. Immediately upon arrival though, something changed.

Now, you could argue that it was just the change of setting, or the thrill of being on vacation, or any other number of things, but I’ve been to plenty of places before, and I’m telling you – none of them had quite the effect that Bali did. The reason for that is that of all the places I’ve been to, Bali is so far the one that is most closely connected to nature. I’ve never come back from a trip feeling so refreshed, and I think that connection is the reason why!

So it comes down to this: when I’m surrounded by nature and greenery, I just feel better. Apparently, it isn’t just me either, because National Geographic has a fantastic article about the science behind this too. I just didn’t get the importance of it, or the impact that being surrounded by concrete for an extended period of time can have on the human spirit. Crazy!

I should have realized this sooner; all my best photography work is of things found in nature – plants, animals, landscapes and the like. I just never connected the dots until my trip to Bali. Since then, I’ve brought plants into the house my wife and I recently purchased, and even that has dramatically improved my sense of well-being at home. I’ll write at a later date about some of my favourite choices for indoor plants (did you know that live plants clean and purify the air inside your house? Yeah, me neither, until recently)!

Wrapping it Up

Think of this post as an introduction to why this section of my site exists. Nature, and everything that’s a part of it, is an important part of my life, and an important ingredient in my happiness that I’ll be continuing to explore moving forward. If you’re feeling down, or stuck in rut, or whatever, a little dose of greenery might be exactly what the doctor ordered. Stay tuned for more on the subject!