It was inevitable living in New Zealand, I have become a full blown outdoor adventure addict. Combine that with my love of exercise, and pursuit of fitness, and you have one formidible combination. With the summer fast approaching, and subsequently more daylight, my main focus will be feeding both of these habits. If there is one thing I am trying really hard to adopt from the the Kiwi culture it would have to be their work-life balance. Taking time for oneself is a necessity, and at 41 it is slowly sinking in to my middle-aged brain.
Is outdoor adventure, and physically taxing exercise, a suitable treatment for depression, drug addiction, ADHD, etc, maybe? It seems to me a good dose of nature would do wonders for depression and ADHD, but drug addiction is more complicated. With the opioid addiction becoming a full blown epidemic in the US, looking into nature bathing as a supplemental therapy might be worthwhile. At this point, we need to take action, and not just talk tough (like some do, about most things). Connecting with the natural world we were all once very much a part of might just yield the miracle we are so desperately in need of right now.
Like climate change, and hostile foreign nations, the opioid epidemic isn't going away anytime soon, so we need to act now. We can only achieve our goals through a united front, so enough with the bullshit, let's get to work.
Sony A9 - 70-200