Just a bit over a hundred years ago, surveys show that the vast majority of people in the Western world lived in rural settings, and were frequently involved in working outdoors, in an agricultural capacity.
Fast forward to today, and the entire situation has more or less completely reversed, with the majority of people living in cities, large towns, and other urban environments, and a much higher proportion of people working technical jobs that have nothing much to do with activities such as farming.
There are all sorts of serious benefits to bucking the trend, and striving to spend a good deal of time in the countryside, however. You could go all-out and consult with a company such as Visio Lending in order to actually buy a countryside home. Or, you could just visit for regular strolls and day outings.
In any case, here are just a few benefits of spending time in the countryside.
The opportunity to experience a bit of “stillness” and “silence”
There is plenty of noise in the world today, ranging from the literal sounds of traffic, to the “mental noise” of your social media feed. Or, at least, that’s the verdict of the famous Norwegian explorer and writer Erling Kagge.
When you spend time in the countryside – and especially if you are actually going for strolls, and aren’t staying totally connected to your usual digital technologies of choice – then you are putting yourself in a situation where you get to experience precisely that kind of “stillness” and “silence” that so many of us are lacking these days.
According to Kagge and others, personal insight and good psychological health depend largely on regular moments of “silence”.
A return to a pace of life closer to the one human beings have experienced throughout most of history
If modern urban settings are “louder” than the environments where we have spent most of our history on this planet, then they are certainly also “faster” and “busier.”
When you get out into the countryside, you are better able to pause, take a deep breath, and have a moment to yourself to consider just what it is you’re going to do with your time, and what is going on around you.
This opportunity to return to a pace of life closer to the one your ancestors experienced, may have various benefits – from reducing your stress levels, to allowing for more even-keeled decision-making.
An opportunity to get more engaged with the natural world
Interacting with the natural world is, in and of itself, an extremely valuable way of spending your time; and there’s research to suggest that just being in a natural environment can help to reduce stress, tension, and inflammation in the body, as well as boost overall feelings of well-being.
There’s no need to become a fully-fledged wilderness explorer; but if the only greenery you usually see is a tree or two next to a busy road, then you could almost certainly benefit from visits to the countryside.
