Do you notice indoor plants, for example, in Changi Airport?
I love plants. I notice them everywhere. Indoors or outdoors, they have a salubrious effect on me. Just a few moments of reconnecting with nature can calm me and make me more alert and inspired. I don’t have to have white clouds against clear skies with mountains and lakes as backdrops. It would be nice to have them, though!
What is the science in feeling the way I do? In 1984, Edward Wilson introduced the idea of biophilia (“love of life and the living world”) to explain our innate tendency to seek connections with nature, aesthetic preference for natural environments, and an instinctive affiliation with other living organisms.
We seek nature because we evolved in nature – over six million years! If urbanisation is defined as a post-industrial revolution development, then 99.99% of human history has occurred in a natural setting. Our history as urban creatures is short. In 1800, only 3% of the world’s population lived in urban environments. By 1900, this proportion increased to 14%; today it stands at 54%. In Singapore, it is 100%
One of the effects of urbanisation is the amount of time we spend indoors (or in our cars). For example, it was estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency that Americans spend about 93% of their time indoors, and Europeans spend 90% of their time indoors. The situation in Singapore is likely to be similar. These figures show how disconnected we are from nature.
Scientists believe our physiological functions are adapted to nature, despite living in an “artificialised” environment. We cannot adjust to the rapid demands of urbanisation in a short period (measured on an evolutionary timescale). Hence, humans show a strong tendency to bring nature indoors to counter what we miss!
When I think about nature, I think of transcendence – rising above to a higher state. Transcendence comes from the Latin prefix trans-, meaning “beyond,” and the word scandare, meaning “to climb.” When we achieve transcendence, we have gone beyond the ordinary – beyond immediate physical needs and realities.
The wonder lies in the fact that after taking a moment to reconnect with nature, we become more in tune with our emotions. I feel a sense of well-being that surpasses my previous state. I am convinced by what scientists tell us- that consciously appreciating nature enhances cognitive functioning through our connections with the natural world.
We can marvel at our natural environment, indoors or outdoors. It’s a continual source of joy we can readily and effortlessly tap into.