Saturday 10 October 2009

Community Forum / COMMUNITY CONNECTEDNESS pt 2

Attending the Community Forum I mentioned in a recent post, made me realize that I have neglected the 'community participation' aspect of my life a bit lately and I have noticed the effect. I used to be on various Community Groups/ Committees, but am not on any at the moment and really miss the feeling of fulfilment that you get - helping do work that wouldn’t otherwise get done and meeting other locals you would probably otherwise not meet - let alone get to know. So when our house is (finally finished) I will join a group that sparks my interest – perhaps LorneCare which helps with weeding and revegetation in the area.

Yes of course – doing this will take away from work time and even family time and will take organization of course to do, but it will be worth it.

One of the speakers at the Forum today was Professor Mardie Townsend - from Deakin University. She in fact spoke about the scientific proof that Nature does plays an integral role in our wellbeing and mental health - and the health of communities on the whole.

There are apparently 5 key factors to consider around these issues –
• Physical exercise
• Social connectedness
• Creativity
• Productivity
• Interacting with nature

And surprise, surprise Gardening covers all 5.

I have never had much of a green thumb but as I get older it is finally something I ‘want’ to do, so I look forward to establishing our new garden when we get to that stage too, knowing how good it is for me to do. Again to make it happen and fit it in – I need to make it a priority and have an organized approach to it to be productive. If I don’t make it a priority no one else will!

Inspired by Mardie I got the gardening gloves on and got the kids to help tackle some serious weeds out the back and we all felt a great sense of achievement with the results.

What do you get from gardening? Does it help you de-stress?

Happy Organizing
Claire McFee
Organize Your Life Organizers

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