To a lot of people, the allure of the great outdoors defies logic. Tent campers have warm, comfortable and spacious homes, yet they leave it all to shiver outside in a cramped tent in the wild . participating in extreme sports like mountain biking are usually healthy and in the prime of life, but they risk both life and limb to push themselves further. what's the big pull ? Here are the top 10 reasons people crave the outdoors:
1. Beauty and grandeur
"O beautiful for halcyon skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties," go the evocative words to America the Beautiful. cities have their beauty, but an outdoor vista untouched by people can take your breath away. Because of this, people have a strong emotional pull toward the outdoors. Even people who claim to hate the countryside bring plants into their homes, decorate with the colors of nature, and have conservatories built so they can see the scenery.
2. Open spaces
"O beautiful for spacious skies" are words that resonate with many people. There is something exhilarating about seeing a stunning panorama spread before you. The feeling is often a paradoxical sense of smallness and freedom. In the confined space of the home or office, adults often feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility, as if a lot rests on their shoulders. Being outdoors puts it all into perspective. The grand order of the universe will continue even if you don't get that report competed for your boss and even if your children gets a D in algebra.
3. Stress reliever
Most people experience a constant low-level stress from the clutter of modern life. always e-mails to answer, phone calls to answer, bills to pay and lots of unfinished tasks to complete. By pushing it all aside to row down a lazy river in a canoe, hearing nothing but the twitter of birds and the smooth slapping of oars against water, the mind becomes quiet.
Although they may complain at first, kids benefit from getting away from the Xbox and Internet. The constant distractions from various electronics make it hard to concentrate. Parents notice their kids calming down and actually being tired when they go to bed at night.
4. Exploration
although explorers are no longer discovering uncharted areas\places, people still have an inborn\huge desire to explore. Adventure is the main reason hunters go into the wild to kill and drag their food home rather than heading to the butchers of the food store. There's just no sport in picking up a pack of ground beef for £ 3.45 a pound.
5. Fitness
A gym workout keeps you fit and is generally safe, but it can quickly get boring. Climbing a precipice focuses every ounce of attention to the task, and the constant danger keeps it from ever getting boring . For those who like safer challenges, even a hike offers a change of scenery at every turn. Unlike a gym workout, a hike has built-in motivation. An person can simply step off a treadmill when it gets tedious, but a day walking can't just quit in the middle of the forest.
6. Technical challenge
Correct use of gadgetry can make or break an outdoor experience. In extreme sports, it can mean the difference between life and death. Gadget-geeks pore over the specifications of everything from compasses to waterproofs, and they adore every minute of it. Each expedition becomes a technical feat. Mountaineers work out the number of pitons needed to climb a pitch, ice fishers decide which auger to purchase, and bow-and-arrow hunters choose which kind of arrow to use.
7. Mentally stimulating
Most outdoor adventures require more than brute strength. They challenge the mind. Any excursion into the unknown requires careful planning. Hiking is one example of this mental challenge. Hikers think over each tool and piece of clothing to decide whether it is worthy of going into the backpack. Each item is carefully weighed and totaled. Hikers find that the mental exercise of paring down to bare essentials is oddly liberating.
8. Living in the moment
A lot of work, home and school life is centered on the future. Blue collar workers strive for a promotion, parents save for school, and students study for upcoming exams. The details of the present are usually barely noticed. When people go backpacking, cycling, rock climbing or canoeing, they are forced to pause all thoughts about the future. All that is important is executing the next move. When people live in the moment, immediate surroundings come into sharp focus. Even the food begins to taste nicer. Walkers say there is no better food than bacon and eggs cooking in a pan over an open fire.
People who experience life-or-death experiences in the outback often say that this intense, moment-by-moment feeling changes their life. They come back with a new perspective for every good thing they have.
9. Comradeship
Having a friend to share a tent and an outdoor experience brings you far closer than any backyard barbecue. Encountering dangerous conditions, those in which your life is in your pals hands, brings a deep level of trust that few other situations match. One sport that involves extreme trust is rock climbing, in which one friend is on belay and the other fixes the rope.
10. Mind healing
Sometimes reaching to the end of your physical ability brings intense spiritual insights. A lot of people who come face to face with near death experiences in the countryside tell of a strong feeling of love propelling them forward, a sense that their loved ones are present in spirit. In the early ninety's, J Davidson and his climbing friend, Mike, fell into a crevasse while climbing Mount Rainier. Mike died in the accident, and Jim, though grief-stricken over the loss of his best mate, felt the presence of his pop encouraging him through the dangerous vertical ascent to safety.
Aside from near death situations, many people think about the order of the universe during their adventures into the countryside, whether they believe in an a greater being or not.
With all the benefits of outdoor life, what is the attraction to the great outdoors