Flourish

“The enjoyment of scenery employs the mind without fatigue and yet exercises it, tranquilizes it and yet enlivens it; and thus, through the influence of the mind over the body, gives the effect of refreshing rest and reinvigoration to the whole system.”

Frederick Law Olmsted

I’ve always been attracted to the vibrant environments that urban metropolises bring— the flashing, bright lights that reflect from the Times Square jumbotrons, patter of people walking all around, honking from mobs of traffic— describing them in written form may not sound the most appealing, but having this kind of surrounding ambiance in person is nothing short of my dream.

Simultaneously, I’ve also been a strong lover of the less chaotic, more grassroots lifestyle. Rustic approaches to living, walking and enjoying natural beauty, I can all vividly imagine.

I struggle to find the balance between the two drastically different aesthetics. The city is bustling and lively, but it moves at an extremely fast pace. It can be challenging to find a sense of place in an environment that isn’t suitable for chance encounters and community building. Of course, the more pastoral life has its own drawbacks. Walkability is sacrificed for single family housing, large lawns, and privacy.

Biophilia, the concept I mentioned in my last post, has several applications to both types of spaces. In a sense, it also blends the two together. The more superficial understanding of what is referred to as “Biophilic Design” is really just sticking plants into spaces for the desired mental health benefits. The reality is much more complex and diverse. A lot of factors that we wouldn’t typically bat an eye at affect us in strong ways. Besides simply just visual connections with nature, here are some less obvious examples* that I find particularly interesting:

Auditory Connections:
While it may seem obvious that the sounds of office work and traffic are more stressful than sounds of nature, the effects that our ambient environment has is tremendous; nature sounds can help psychological and physiological healing by up to 37% faster than urban commotion. The reality of this, however, is that our auditory perception highly depends upon our visual ones. Certain sounds are processed similarly, and what distinguishes calming waves from the buzz of traffic may simply come down to what we see in front of us.

Olfactory System:
Ever heard about the “calming properties” of essential/herbal oils? Studies have actually shown that these scents can help with human healing and immune function.

Haptic Connections:
Beyond being amazing uplifters just for who they are, touching therapy dogs has been proven to be therapeutic in and of itself! Tactile connections with nature (touching real plants rather than simply synthetic ones) has shown beneficial calming affects.

Our Senses
In summary, we find benefits when we interact with nature with all five of our senses— although I haven’t listed gustatory connections and the more obvious visual ones, they can also instigate similar healing properties. Looking back at my preference for different sorts of surroundings, both types of spaces include different connections that influence my feelings in each settings. I encourage you all to intentionally decide what exactly you surround yourself with. It clearly matters more than many of us would think.

*You can read more detailed explanations from Terrapin’s 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design.