Nature appreciation and outdoor recreation have rapidly increased around the world. A 2021 article published in the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism cites reports of increased visitation in national parks in Sweden, as well as in Germany, America, and Japan. This just underscores how more people are seeking the comfort and peace of plants and nature than ever before.

This isn’t surprising information, given that the last few years were spent in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Daydreaming in Paradise explains that working from home forced everyone to increase their usage of technology and made it difficult to find learning opportunities outside of work. Many also struggled to socialize, causing emotions such as frustration and anxiety to build up.

In light of these challenges, many people sought peace in the natural world. Digital platform Klaviyo found that online sales of gardening goods doubled in 2020, as individuals who couldn’t go outside chose to home garden as a hobby. Watching a living being grow each day brought a sense of calm to many people. Here, plants taught everyone to find peace amidst the turbulence in the outside world.

This is only one of the many life lessons that we can learn from plants. In this article, we discuss four more of our favorite lessons.

Turn toward the sun

As we’ve mentioned earlier, there will always be situations in life that are out of our control. However, we can control how we cope and find peace.

Plants can thrive even in conditions where weeds and predators are around them. They continue to focus on their own growth and turn, literally, toward the sun. This allows them to nourish themselves despite the challenges of their environment. Similarly, we must keep on turning towards the sun in challenging times, by practicing good habits and focusing on what’s healthy for us.

Beauty comes in different forms

The scenic beauty of nature comes from the wide range of different flora and fauna that coexist in harmony. In fact, a 2020 survey from Landscape and Urban Planning found higher life satisfaction among people who visited more diverse types of natural spaces, such as managed parks and beaches. This shows us that diversity adds to the magic of nature.

Just like every plant, every person is different. Nature teaches us to accept our uniqueness as part of what makes us beautiful. We all have a role on this planet to make the world a better place.

Look at the bigger picture

Many beginner gardeners know the feeling of elation during the first shift from seed to sprout, as well as the feeling of disappointment when each day doesn’t seem to bring new changes thereafter. It’s hard to notice a seedling’s progress if you observe its growth from one day to the next. If you look at the same plant a month or year later, however, the change becomes clear.

Plants can easily teach us to appreciate the process and look at everything in the bigger picture. That is why gardening is recommended by National Geographic as a learning activity for kids. Even younger children can naturally develop patience and mindfulness when caring for a plant’s growth.

Always be open-minded to new ideas

For years, many of us believed that plants do not have neural receptors, and therefore do not feel. In our previous article of Plants Feel, we wrote that our human flaw is to be ego-centric, as we often use our limited human logic to explain the world. Recent evidence has demonstrated that, even if plants don’t have a nervous system like we do, they are entirely capable of feeling and registering pain.

This information teaches us to be open to new ideas, even if they challenge our long-established beliefs. Looking at the world from different angles can show us more than we’ve ever imagined and thought possible.

For instance, did you know that plants have their own music? Our Bamboo devices utilize revolutionary technology to convert the energy and electrical variation of plants into their own unique sound. Listen to the music of the plants and ponder on the many other lessons that plants can teach us about life.

Written by: Tina Lee