Kindness Comes Naturally

Miller-McCune is reporting today on a Personality and Social Psychologystudy indicating that a connection to nature not only has stress-reducing and healing qualities, but that it also makes us kinder people. Green spaces promote selflessness, empathy, and peaceful coexistence. How do Big Think experts weigh in?

Zen Master Den Genpo Merzel, Roshi found enlightenment on a mountain in California’s Mojave Desert near Jawbone Canyon. Alan Weisman, author of the The World Without Us, also connects nature to spirituality, explaining how it gave him a reverence for life. Majora Carter told Big Think about the importance of green areas to urban spaces, and chronicled the human costs of environmental degradation.

So nature’s power is not disputed by Big Thinkers—but are there solutions for those of us stuck in an office cubicle? According to an Environment and Behaviorstudy, all it takes is an image of a natural scene to ease stress significantly. So listen to photographer Sebastian Copeland’s advice on shooting landscapes, get a good photo, and become kinder naturally.