Do you find yourself often not setting foot outdoors except to go from house to car to errand and back? Do you struggle to find outside activities that interest you enough to overcome whatever weather or insect challenges accompany them? Or maybe you mean to get out of your home or workplace, but it never happens often enough.
You know spending time in nature is good for you in the same way that you know broccoli and kale are good for you. You’d do it if it weren’t so unappealing. Or if you didn’t have to sneak it in.
I feel your pain. It’s often hard for me to get past indoor inertia and the demands of my schedule to engage in the wide world outside my home.
After all, my home is:
- Climate controlled.
- Clean.
- Safe.
- Predictable.
On the other hand, nature can be hot or cold, wet or snowy. It’s often messy, sometimes daunting, and occasionally threatening. It’s far from predictable.
No wonder we tend toward spending most of our time indoors.
It’s easy to think of nature as being the place for athletes, or animal lovers, or tree huggers. You need to be brave, bold, or have the impervious flesh of a buffalo to rough the hazards of the wild. If that’s not you, then you’re out of luck.
But what if nature is meant to be enjoyed by all of us? What if you could find a way to not only survive forays into the world beyond your doorstep, what if you could find a way that allowed you to thrive?
Because I believe all of us are meant to connect with and delight in the natural world. The methods and settings we do so might not always be obvious. But they are there, ready to be discovered and savored.
Hi there, I’m Lara.
The Reluctant Naturalist
Call me a homebody, an indoor maven, a wimp-in-need-of-climate-controlled-comfort. Those would all be accurate. But I’m learning how to embrace time in the outdoors and find ways to experience the benefits of nature that suit my personality.
Which makes me a Reluctant Naturalist.
If, like me, you know fresh air and time in out in the open are good for you if you could just get it more often, then I hope you’ll stick around to learn along with me.
I am an internationally published journalist and author who likes to dig into research to provide solid advice and recommendations. And I’m all about breaking the mold if that’s what it takes to be true to how God made me.
I’m also a bucket list guru. I believe in living with intention and mapping a route to bonding experiences with family and friends alike. My bucket list advice has been featured on a variety of sites, including Today Moms and Pink Pangea. I am best known for my Bucket List Life Manifesto, and my books Family Bucket Lists and Bucket List Living For Moms.
02. Check out my books
Have I mentioned that I’m a published author? If you’d like inspiration on fun ways to connect with your family and make memories in ways best suited to your crew, I hope you’ll check out my books.
Drop me a line!
I love hearing from others who are finding their way into nature on their own terms. And I’m always thrilled to find organizations, products, and businesses that help nature and the humans who want to enjoy nature.