Transform Your Stress into Serenity: Embrace Unity with Nature for a Calmer Life

As we have settled into our 200-square-foot tiny home in the mountains it has supercharged our shared core value of Unity with Nature. We have named it our “Glass Cocoon” because it has 75% floor-to-ceiling windows, and it’s where we go to turn into mush and emerge more evolved with nature made stress relief.

(Daily view from OUTSIDE our Glass Cocoon)

Each day, we get to connect with the rhythms of nature and nature made stress relief:

• Waking up with the gentle kiss of the sun at sunrise 🌞
• Watching the sunset while it creates the most beautiful colors through the clouds 🌄
• Getting lost in the moon and stars at night 🌛
• Seeing the storms roll in through the mountains ⛈️
• Hearing the wind sing as it rustles around our meadow 🌬️
• Listening to the rain dance on our rooftop 🌧️
• Observing all the animals, from the birds, elk, deer, antelope, bunnies, cows, chipmunks, ground squirrels, coyotes, and even a wolf 🐾

(The daily view from INSIDE our Glass Cocoon)

We are so blessed and grateful that we get to call this place home. And while some might think this is the coolest thing ever (like us), others don’t, and that is okay.

Why?

Because this is a full reflection of OUR values. And not everyone else’s.

Your values are as unique as your fingertips. What might motivate me might not motivate you. That is why it is important to know and live your values, not someone else’s. And if you need some help or a refresher, you can identify your unique core values with our free core values quiz.

Since it is Great Outdoors Month, I wanted to activate my value of Curiosity and see how many other people value Unity with Nature.

When reviewing the data of over 2,800 people who have taken our core values quiz, 29% of respondents ranked Unity with Nature as a Core Value and 19% ranked it as an Aspirational Value.

I know I am a little biased because Unity with Nature is one of my top Core Values, but I was shocked that more people didn’t rank it as a Core or Aspirational Value.

But what wasn’t surprising was that…

those who ranked Unity with Nature as a core value reported being less stressed than those who ranked it any other way. They know the benefits of nature made stress relief. 

So, it got me thinking: why don’t people hold the value of Unity with Nature more?

My experience as a coach and trainer for the past five years gives me some interesting insight into why this is…

1. 🌿It’s how people define Unity with Nature—or what they think it is. For example, some might think you have to be a tree hugger or live on a farm.
2. 🏖️They don’t realize Unity with Nature’s impact on them because they have never considered it.
3. 🌠They are so overwhelmed and stressed by their day-to-day lives that they want to crash and use screentime to time to decompress.
4. 🪴They fear nature and think an animal will jump out of the bushes to get them or don’t like to get dirty.
5. 🧣They don’t like the discomfort that can be found in nature, which has been greatly eliminated in our typically comfortable environments

Now, when it comes to your values, you get to define what they mean to YOU.

You have different life experiences than everyone else. When you reflect on your experiences and understand what makes you feel alive (values activated) and what makes you feel drained (values violated), that is where you can see which values truly drive you.

That is how I realized that Unity with Nature is one of my top core values. Whenever I activate it, I feel alive and energized, and whatever stress I have melts away with the nature made stress relief.

For me, Unity with Nature means connecting with nature daily. That could mean investing time with my cat, going for a hike, watching the sunrise, or even just looking at our plants.

And yes, our Glass Cocoon is an extreme example of what it means to be in Unity with Nature. You don’t have to go to that extreme to activate your values or experience the benefits of nature made stress relief.

Because I know firsthand the healing aspects of nature, when I am feeling down or low, I know I can always count on nature to bring me back to center. It helps me activate my values of Self-Care, Health, and Curiosity, to name a few.

Nature made stress relief an antidote to your feelings of stress or being overwhelmed.

Here’s what the research tells us:

• A Japanese study showed that people who spent about 15 minutes sitting in and then walking through nature experienced drops in blood pressure, heart rates, and stress hormone levels. People with the highest levels of stress felt a significant drop in anxiety, depression, and hostility after only two hours in the woods.
• The University of Michigan discovered that spending 20 minutes outside in a local park three times a week is the dose of nature that most efficiently drops levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
• One study—conducted across multiple offices with hundreds of workers—found that having plants in an office boosted productivity by 15%. Plus the workers said they liked their jobs more.
• A study posted in Science found that hospital patients with window views of nature had fewer complications, complained less, and didn’t need as much pain medication.
• According to The Earthing Institute, time connected to the earth with bare skin can lower inflammation, reduce stress, improve sleep, enhance blood flow, and boost physical healing, among other benefits.

Going back to why most people don’t connect with nature, here are my invitations to you to take baby steps to meet yourself where you are. I bet you’ll feel your nature made stress relief in the process.

1. 🌿Redefine what Unity with Nature means to you. You ARE nature, after all. So what does that mean to you where you can relate to it?
2. 🏖️Consider the last time you were in nature and how it impacted you. Were you at the beach? In a forest, at a park or near a stream? How did it make you feel?
3. 🌠Swap screen time for sky time to decompress! Go and look at the clouds, the sun rise or set, stargaze. Connect with what’s above and within you all the time.
4. 🪴Get plants for your home or office. If you don’t like getting dirty or aren’t fully comfortable outdoors, meet yourself where you are by bringing in nature that feels safe.
5. 🧣Plan ahead to get more comfortable outdoors. Worried you will be too hot or cold? Check the forecast and wear layers. In time, you’ll understand how to appreciate the shift in temperature and it may even become enlivening.

Leave the phone, headphones, and other tech behind when you are in nature, or at least put your phone in airplane mode. Research shows that listening to something, hearing the dings/vibrations, or being on your phone while in nature negates the benefits.

Immerse yourself in nature with all your senses. Listen, smell, observe, and touch the natural world around you. This is an excellent mindfulness practice for bringing you into the present moment.

When you are present, you don’t think about what you have to do later or worry about something else that happened or didn’t happen.

You are right here, right now.

And when that happens, stress and anxiety melt away.

So enjoy the great outdoors this month and embrace the healing wisdom of Mother Nature.

If you are looking for inspiration, follow us on Instagram, where we now exclusively share updates from our Glass Cocoon and all that Unity with Nature offers.

Here are three ways we can help you reduce your stress and live in your most authentic self:

💻 Knowing and Living Your Values: During my 10-day course, you’ll identify your unique values, see where you’re currently activating them, and make small tweaks where you’re not so that every day is filled with purpose. Join 7,750+ Students Here.

👥 Alignment Coaching: Want to start being your most authentic self? Work with me 1×1 to align with your core values and ignite more well-being without compromising your impact. Fill out this inquiry form to see if we’re a good fit for one another.

🎤Hire MaryBeth as a Speaker: Have an all-staff event, annual meeting or conference coming up? I will inspire your audience to give themselves and others, permission to be human, unleashing higher productivity, profit, and purpose through shared values. Learn more here.