“"Nature" is what's out there, beyond our cities and suburbs. Nature is the wilderness, plains and hills, jungles and oceans of the Earth.”

The relationship with Nature – with a capital N – is one of the most important tenets of every version of Stoicism. I haven't covered it here yet, yet the time has come to start digging in. Let's do it one bite at a time. I start off with the everyday, nonphilosophical sense of the term "nature".

The meaning of ‘Nature’

What do non-philosophers mean when they speak of "nature", particularly in the context of "contact with nature," or "living close to nature"? Such "nature" stands for "natural environment", untouched or at least not destroyed by humankind. "Nature" is what's out there, beyond our cities and suburbs. Nature is the wilderness, plains and hills, jungles and oceans of the Earth.

In most of the present-day conversations such "nature" is valued and appreciated. As a society we need to preserve nature thus understood while as individuals we need to get out there and spend time in nature. This is particularly important in the time of the pandemic. If we want to stay sane amid the lockdowns and restrictions, we need less screen time and more physical activity outdoors. That's a truism in 2021.

Not especially Stoic

The rationale for this is chiefly psychological, yet not especially stoic. No one really justifies the need of spending time outdoors with Marcus Aurelius. How does it work then?

Psychological explanations are obvious. After all, we are creatures neither hardwired nor supposed to spend our lives in roofed and air-conditioned areas. We don't thrive indoors, that's for sure. Is that all, however?

As an avid hiker I think of it a lot. And, surely, I'm not the first person in the history of humankind to ask myself that. Why do we love long walks in the woods? Why do we climb a mountain? Why do we spend money to fly ourselves to some remote corner of the planet? What kind of psychospiritual reward is in it?

The beauty of nature out there has been described in many ways. Awe-inspiring. Calming the nerves. Healing the soul. Putting us in contact with God. Many words to describe one and the same sentiment, a very Stoic one to boot. Here it is. Experiencing nature firsthand (strolling solo in the woods, scaling a mountain, hiking the hills, etc.) equals experiencing the things beyond our power (remember the Dichotomy of Control!) in their full extent.

Nature out there – forgive the pun – IS there. Whenever we shake off the doldrums of our urban life, whenever we turn off our computers and go out there – it will be there, patiently waiting.

Think for instance of the snowy mountain tops. Whatever storms shake our human world, whatever comes to pass in politics or in our individual life – they will be there. Come what may, be it hell or high water – they will be there, untouched, unchanged, perennial. They are (and all "nature" is) the epitome, the apex of "not within our power." That's why we need connecting with it so much. That's why we wither if we alienate ourselves from them. This is the source of the deep consolation that contact with nature brings.

The illusion of control

In the fast-paced and over-connected world today it is easy to forget the Stoic teaching on the things in and outside our power. We promptly fall for the illusion that we can – and should – control everything, all aspects of our life and society. That's a fast track to burnout and depression. And that's why we need contact with nature so much. We require it for calibration of our bearings. We need it – the awesome mountains, vast plains, deep woods – as a reminder that the world out there is ultimately outside of our control.

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Dr. Piotr Stankiewicz, Ph.D., is a writer and philosopher, promoter of reformed Stoicism. He authored Manual of Reformed Stoicism, and Does Happiness Write Blank Pages?

 

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