In the Country

Most week-ends I'm fortunate enough to get to spend time in the country with friends, family and the fresh air.

Sometimes in the rush of the week it's easy to forget just how important nature is to our nurture.

For those of us who don’t live in the countryside roads, homes, city parks, and shopping centers all form our immediate environment, these are the places where we develop our lifestyles. We interact with this material structure continuously and inevitably, but do we understand how?

There is a strange but needed connection between place and mind and getting to grips with the idea that the physical settings around us are not neutral or passive helps us work out what influences us.

The built environment matters greatly for the constraints it imposes and the opportunities it provides. It plays a role in creating or destroying a sense of place. So this week-end use some of your spare time to get out and look for your spot of country.

It helps relax the mind for new learning to take effect.