Living Well and "Recapturing Your Wild Side"

Ahhh boy .... did I ever connect with an article in a recent edition of Men's Health Magazine.  Check this out:

"Nature heals, restores, and invigorates.  It makes your body stronger and your mind quicker". (Men's Health July/Aug 2010)

The article, entitled Recapture Your Wild Side,  was brilliant as it provides a compelling argument  -based on scientific research- that proves that getting out of the concrete jungle and closer to nature adds to the quality of your life.  As many of you already know, the idea of getting closer to nature can be possible by embracing the digital lifestyle and leveraging technology to work remotely from any corner of the world.  Keep this in mind as you read the short extract below.


The article unfolds by asking the reader to close their eyes and visualize the perfect place to live.  


Extract:

"It's possible (you can open your eyes now) that you're picturing an urban apartment ringed by traffic-filled streets. More likely is a home set on high ground, in a field of grass, shaded by trees, overlooking a stream, lake, or sea.   

The renowned Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson wrote, "It seems that whenever people are given a free choice, they move to open, tree-studded land on prominences overlooking water." His theory of "biophilia" (an attraction to living systems) suggests that humans have evolved an affinity for the natural settings that nurtured their hominid ancestors. 

And yet the 21st-century [American] man spends an estimated 90 percent of his time sealed off from nature--in an office, at a desk, in his house, behind the wheel, on the couch watching TV, or in bed sleeping in air that's often artificially cooled and dehumidified. The ultimate cost of this separation from his natural state is impossible to calculate. But in recent years, scientists have measured enough specific benefits of exposure to the outdoors--less anger, more productivity, quicker thinking, faster healing, longer lives--that the lesson seems obvious. (Source: Men's Health July/Aug 2010)

This article coincidentally supports a decision that my wife and I made last year when we purchased an acre of land off the coast of southern Belize.  The land we purchased is in a new eco-friendly community that is being built called Sanctuary Belize.  

Over the next few years, as the community develops, we'll be starting to build a home on our land so that we can spend a portion of the year living by the Caribbean sea and thriving on the adventure that the rainforest, ocean, and mountains of Belize provide.  One of the cool things that helped us confirm our decision to invest in Sanctuary Belize was that I was able to connect to the Internet from the rainforest and Skype with my wife and daughter back in Canada. So this means that eventually we can live our digital lifestyle by working smartly and remotely from Belize, living well by being close to nature, all while seeking adventure.  For us this was an important piece in architecting our digital lifestyle.  Reading "Recapturing Your Wild Side" helps reinforce the importance of architecting your lifestyle so that you can gather all the experiences that you want in life.  

Live it everyone!!!!

Chris