Our Human Need for Nature

On Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, it can be found the most basic of that which we as people require for survival and growth. However, upon viewing his hierarchy what we do not see listed is perhaps the most basic and critical of human needs: the need for nature.

Do We Need Nature?

Paraphrasing William Shakespeare, 'is nature to be or not to be'? That is the question. It seems simple and straightforward. But is it? Who, for example, makes up the "we"? Does the "we" refer to peasant farmers whose livelihoods depend on the productivity of local soils or the availability of water and other natural resources that they must exploit to survive? Does it refer to corporations whose operations and success depend on the use of various elements of the natural environment? How might one interpret the meaning of "need"? Is it a need related to one's well being, or is it a desired need, but not a necessity? Fragilecologies...

I believe without too much thought, however, anyone can easily experience the satisfaction of their nature need uniquely. You need but walk into the cool forest and watch the water fall on a warm summer's day. Or see the ice crystals glisten upon the pine trees after a fresh winter snow. For others, it is the tropical atmosphere, the shoreline, even the thrill of flight. One pattern is always present however, we always feel better in nature.

Why We Need More Time in the Natural World

But what exactly is being restored by such immediate connection with nature? Or, put another way, what are we missing without these experiences? An entirely different experiment sheds some light on this question. University of Michigan psychologist Marc Berman believes that nature actually shifts our brain from one processing mode to another. That is, when we walk around city streets with a lot of stimulation, we need to employ a very focused and analytic kind of attention; that's how we process rush-hour traffic and police sirens and other urban noises. But this kind of attention can get depleted. Interacting with nature shifts the mind to a more relaxed and passive mode, allowing ourl powers to be restored. Newsweek...

 Regardless what we currently know about nature, or what we may ever know, one thing is certain: this is where we came from. Whether from this planet or another, whether from air, sea, or land, mystical nature is the birthplace of consciousness itself - something we neither can nor want to leave entirely.