“Heaven is under our feet, as well as over our heads.” —Thoreau

The pandemic may have put a damper on your 2020 travel plans—but rejoice!

The Indiana State Parks are open [following CDC guidelines} and there’s plenty of hiking/biking trails to explore while practicing social distancing.

Did you know that Indiana has 24 state parks? If you’re an Indiana resident, you can purchase an annual pass for $50 here.

Our plan for 2020 is to explore as many of the Indiana State Parks as possible. That means a whole lot of adventuring without getting on a plane or leaving the State. In fact, the more we learn about what Indiana has to offer—the more excited we are to put on our hiking boots and explore.

The Benefits Of Spending Time In Nature

“The human mind is heavily influenced by the environment we’re in. It’s not useful to become slaves to technology.” —David Strayer, PhD in Psychology

My goal for 2020 is to spend less time in front of a screen and more time surrounded by colors & trees. Here are a just a few benefits of spending time in nature:

• Decreased levels of depression & anxiety
• Increased short term memory & cognitive abilities
• Increased levels of vitamin D (a mood enhancer)
• Increased physical fitness from walking, hiking, biking, swimming etc.
• Decreased mortality!
• Increased Creativity!

Creativity & Nature

Did you know people who are high in Trait Openness (i.e. creative types) benefit from being in nature? Here are a few reasons that nature can boost your creativity:

• being in nature clears the mind
• increases creative problem solving by up to 50%
• is ascetically pleasing, full of color & visual stimuli
• nature is inspiring
• walking increases creative thinking
• nature pushes us out of our comfort zone

My Theory On Nature

Being in nature makes us feel exponentially better mentally, physically, and creatively because nature is 100% order. What does that mean?

Nature is orderly in that there is symmetry in the plant leaves & bark of trees. When you look out on a forest—almost all the plants are the same shade of green. The sounds of the woods may seem chaotic at first, but if you listen long enough there is a rhythm—a melody. Everything has a place in nature—even the dirt & mud are orderly in their purpose. There are no hoarders in nature (except fat squirrels).

So when we surround ourselves in nature—we are surrounding ourselves with order. We are balancing ourselves with the chaos of the modern world. 

Do yourself a favor—take a walk in the woods.

Explore what Indiana has to offer.

Learn more about the Indiana State Parks, State Forests, and other outdoor activities here.