OUR STORY
Your Original State Journal
The Original State Journal has been created to help you gain better focus, experience wonder, improve your happiness, health and knowledge by rebalancing your relationship with nature. By encouraging us all to review, rediscover and deepen our connection with nature, we will not only measurably improve our own mind, body and spirit, but our connection to the health of our wonderful planet.
Why was Original State Journal created?
So, how did all this start? A combination of things: a passion for being in nature and a passion for looking at ways to get more of us connecting to and benefitting from nature's ability to restore our wellbeing. Also, I was interested in the positive impact that a greater connection with nature could have on a closer connection with our planet's health.
From our childhood, to our present, and beyond: nature's impact on our wellbeing
If I asked you to recall a favourite experience from your childhood, the chances are likely that it would involve an experience where you were outside, somewhere in nature. It could be as simple as at a local park, playing sports with friends and remembering the sounds and smells of summer. Or maybe making a den in a friend’s garden, or wading together in a local river, trying to catch crayfish in a net.
The above memories are just a few of my own. On nearly every occasion, I can recall not only the scene, but also the sensations - for example, some prickly rock or pine needles under my feet. In contrast to our time spent inside, we have evolved and learned to live in and make sense of the natural world; and this will be as relevant tomorrow as it is today, and as it has been forever.
Our current nature connection, health and wellbeing problem
We all know that nature is good for us - for our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing - and there is increasing scientific research that proves this. Yet, modern life has a habit of absorbing us, such that the actions we take most often are not those that are best for us. For instance, one statistic in particular leapt out in my research for this book: that in developed countries, the average person spends 90% of their time indoors. In the process, that person loses awareness of a growing disconnection from all that is outside; becoming less connected to the natural world through real-life experience, and overly connected to a screen rather than natural scene.
Speaking from my own experiences, the chances are likely that there are some times when you have lost track of the time you have spent outside in any given week, with too much time in front of a screen both in leisure as well as work time? Or, even when you have got outside, that your mind and body (in terms of its senses) has been elsewhere? This disconnection has not only a negative impact on our own wellbeing, but it also disconnects us from our planet's state of health and from the actions we need to take to help protect it.
Love of nature + inquisitive mindset + desire to inspire = the idea for The Original State Journal
Throughout my life, education (which took a more social science/anthropologically focused route rather than science itself) and professional career, I never lost my love of nature. Yet, like the rest of us, modern life often increasingly absorbed me, disconnecting me from nature and its benefits. So, with the inquisitive mindset that has been a common thread running through all of my life, school, work and leadership experience, like a young child I set out to ask the same questions I always have: WHY and HOW? (Why do we do what we do; and is it good for us? If not, how do we change it for the better through actions we can take? How can we inspire others to also effect change?).
An inspirational journey to restore our vitality and wellbeing, and that of our planet, by deepening our connection to the natural world
Against this backdrop, I set about trying to answer those above questions, and read a huge amount of scientific papers, articles and other research. Taking all the evidence and scientific research into account, as well as my own enjoyment of being outdoors (even in the most basic nature locations like a garden or my local park), I wanted to create a practical yet meaningful way to help us apply this knowledge and focus on our natural world experience; a practical way to change the statistic of being indoors for 90% of our day; and a practical way to avoid falling into the trap of modern life overtaking us in terms of our wellbeing, or sabotaging us in terms of the time, breadth and depth of our experiences outside.
The Original State Journal was born
The outcome of this process is the Original State Journal. I am really pleased with the end product and I hope you will be too. Using the journal regularly, it will help you identify and track when modern life may be taking over, including the problems that this can cause in our own wellbeing (physical, mental, emotional) and that of our planet. Additionally, I hope it will inspire you to create an adventurous and engaging 'Year in Nature' expedition of your own.
Whether you are someone new to nature and its benefits, or you are a regular natural world advocate, I hope this journal will give you a new way of experiencing nature - its impacts on all aspects of your own health, as well as that of our planet.
Original State Journal