Recently, while in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, I learned that throwing yourself off a 30 foot tree does a lot for your self-confidence and energy level. Really.
If you happen to be afraid about making that jump – fearful of the height – or afraid you really cannot accomplish your goal, the people on this same journey will encourage you. Not just the tour employees – but every person who is a part of the adventure. They say things like, “you can do it!” or “I believe in you!” In essence, you have a little mini-community right there on your tour supporting you through the experience. This energizes you and fills your soul with the belief that anything is possible.
How incredible is that? The more frightened you are, the more likely your group will cheer you on. By the end of my tour in the Yucatan jungle, I was shouting my encouragement to my new community as well. Always ready to jump off, dive after, or climb higher, my words of encouragement to others who were afraid to do these things made a true difference.
Above you see a photo of my husband, Luis, upside down on a zipline over the Yucatan jungle during our Selvatica ziplining tour. It was incredible – and with a little encouragement and assistance from our little community, he jumped off the trees as if he had been doing it his whole life. He touched the jungle in a way some people only dream of. Below is a photo of our Selvatica ziplining experts who had a great time with Luis and helped him accomplish something wonderful.
When you become active in your community it produces the same results – you are encouraged and cheered on by your community friends. You become less isolated and therefore, more connected, to your neighbors. As time goes on you start to feel better – both about yourself and about the world around you. If you are in nature with your community doing more green things like gardening and experiencing outdoor activities, you have the added bonus of having feel-good brain chemicals like Serotonin kick in making you feel even more “up” and energized.
In other words, by being a part of a green community, you can help reduce depression – your depression – and feel better about yourself and your accomplishments. Some, like me, feel that becoming involved in your community and less isolated in your living practices, combined with more physical activity, is a miracle cure for stress.
Be less depressed and feel better about who you are; build community and get out in nature more often. You will feel fantastic when you do.
Shawna Coronado says Get Healthy! Get Green! Get Community! www.thecasualgardener.com, The Green Blog - www.gardeningnude.com, or The Garden Blog - http://thecasualgardener.blogspot.com
This is such a great post Shawna and it's something that I really need to start thinking about. Without going into a lot of detail... I've been feeling really stuck in my life lately which has caused me to retreat into isolation. Your words remind me that I really need to find a small community of people who I can associate with. Your husband was very brave to jump off the zip-line and you can really see his excitement in that last photo.
Posted by: Chris Pugh | April 13, 2009 at 11:50 AM