As John Muir, the renowned “father of the National Parks,” poetically expressed, “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.” Nature is a necessity for the human spirit. It has an inherent power to renew, heal, re-energize and restore a healthy balance between an officer’s work and personal life. It is a most powerful influence to reduce stress and enhance peace.

Importance of nature

The daily assaults upon an officer’s spirit by work traumas and acute stress have the potential to significantly disturb one’s peace of mind and quality of life. Over time, the accumulated distress, restlessness and anxieties disrupt sleep and make it impossible to ever relax or maintain optimal health. A perpetual state of tension can cause significant damage to the heart, resulting in not only physical health problems, but also emotional distress and an erosion of resilience.

In my 40 years in the law enforcement profession, one of my most essential strategies to recover, heal and restore peace has been to immerse myself in nature as much as possible. I’ve been to 24 of the 63 national parks and have walked, hiked, swam, biked and explored nature’s treasures at least a few times a week. There is a mountain of scientific evidence that proves that nature has the inherent ability to decrease stress and anxieties while significantly improving peace of mind. 

Nature also improves cognitive ability and is associated with increases in happiness, restful sleep, subjective well-being and a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as decreases in mental distress. The one thing officers need more than anything else is to find ways to gain inner stillness and greater peace.

Nature’s positive effects

Within us all is a primal, innate psychological and physical need to experience the quietude and stilling effects of nature. Through most of human evolution, nature has played an essential survival, protective and comforting role. It is the hearth of our inner spirit.

The peace one experiences in nature is a quieting peace like no other. It is a mysterious, comforting, stilling influence that connects one with life. It is a peace only understood by a comforted heart that instinctively beats to the rhythm of pulsating life. Nature calms the heart, stills the mind and enlivens the spirit.

Nature can be humbling, bringing one within the immensity of life. For example, look at the stars and consider the reality that there are more stars in the observable universe than there are grains of sand in all the world’s beaches and deserts combined. An estimated 200 billion stars die and approximately 200 billion stars are born (and then shine for billions of years) every day throughout the known universe (that’s over 2 million stars every second!).

Every plant you see was once just a seed — from a tiny flower to the majestic sequoia tree. Every expression of life has been evolving for millions of years. There are tremendous forces of wind, water and erosion perpetually sculpting the face of nature. A snowflake is one of the most fragile and delicate things on earth. Yet when enough of them are together, they form glaciers that move mountains.

Nature also inspires and empowers the spirit. Mountain ranges and peaks demonstrate the power of creative forces. They inspire one to seek their heights and they stir the imagination about what is possible. Meadows and forests calm the nervous system and still the heart. Vast oceans and waterways soothe emotions as well as renew and re-energize. Deserts have their own uniquely peaceful effects. 

A simple walk outside or in a park helps to release tensions of the day. Appreciation of nature’s gifts tends to release cares. As John Muir said, “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

The treasures of nature can never be exhausted and are meant to comfort troubled hearts. It teaches us patience, non-resistance, acceptance, an appreciation of beauty, and the need to grow daily and offer what is within us to the world.

The stress and traumas of the police profession not only distress the mind but tend to cause one to become isolated and disengaged from outdoor activities — which in turn only increases internal distress. Experience more of nature as often as possible and discover for yourself its gifts of peace and renewal.