The Power Of Nature

I was born in a city full of people, growing up with the traffic, the chaos and everything happening around me. At that point, this was not a problem, not even a challenge, it was just part of my life and my routine. Honestly, when I was younger I did not understand very well the concept of finding peace in the nature. For me the nature meant going to the beach with family and friends to have fun.  

As Venezuela has a tropical weather, there is not a dramatic change between the temperature in January or in July. I could say, there is always summer, therefore, I took the green nature always for granted.

Some years have passed since my tropical childhood and my life has changed dramatically since then. This year I will celebrate my first 11 years in Finland and during this time I have learned to appreciate living in a country that values nature as much as gold. No doubts, Finland is a fantastic place to reconnect with nature, reinvent yourself with each season and specially, to find your own space in the forest or in the lakes. This got even better when I moved to Kuopio at the beginning of this year. This area is a nature paradise, and, as water is one of my elements, I am happy to have many lakes around. 

 Tahko is a village located in Finland, about 70 km from the city of Kuopio

If you are wondering why I want to talk about this right now or in my first post, well the reason is that this weekend we were in Tahko celebrating my birthday. Tahko is a place where people can go to ski, walk in nature, play golf, go to the spa, among other options. The first time I visited there was during this spring and I loved it. I have had a very busy weeks and I just want to relax, to breathe fresh air and recharge my energy. I can tell you, this is the place for it.

As simple as it sounds, connecting with nature can make you feel better. It reduces stress and anger, develops better cognitive performance, increases positive thoughts and attitude and makes you sleep better. In other words, nature is like a medicine with a very well proved restorative effects. About 40 min walking in nature is as effective as taking a happy pill. 

Tahko has a fantastic walking area

So, there is no other way to start this new year of my life than exercising outdoors, taking a leisurely walk in this nature paradise. I took it easily: I went for a long walk, ate a good dinner and of course ate my traditional birthday chocolate cake. Now I am ready for the next year. Bring it on!

I hope you had as good weekend as we had.