Hi everyone,
You may have noticed that last year I got interested in the mental health benefits of plants. I spent a bunch of time reading up on the latest science to see if a theory I’ve had for a while held any water. Mainly, that plants can help us be happier even if you don’t have a garden.
What I found impressed me. The short answer is yes but how you go about engaging with plants makes all the difference. It’s not like you can say “good morning” to your gardenia and all will be well (though wouldn’t it be great if you could?). It requires a bit of effort and patience, some organization, strategy, and most importantly, time. Exactly where and how and in what doses is what I’ve been researching this past year (see messy desk above).
Leafing Your Troubles Behind
But I’m delighted to now share that I’ve melded all of the science out there with a bunch of research on happiness and I’ve come up with a system to help people grow happier through plants! There are fun activities too. I even figured out a title I think captures the spirit of the book. It’s called Leaf Your Troubles Behind: How to Destress and Grow Happiness Through Plants. It’s so darn exciting! I can’t wait to share with you all that I’ve learned and created.
That unfortunately means waiting until June of 2022 (wah, *sniff*). But that’s because the good folks at Prometheus Books and I are putting the finishing touches on the cover, text, layout, AND artist Kara Fellows’s totally cool, totally fun illustrations! To check out Kara’s work, visit her website: karafellows.com. She’s so talented. I’ll tell you more about working with Kara and a few previews of her work in future posts.
Lowering Stress and Growing Happiness
So if you’re interested in the natural world and being happier in life, then Leaf Your Troubles Behind is for you. You can pro-order it and be among the first to receive it. And in the meantime if you’d like a sneak peek at the ideas behind this topic, check out my Stress ReLeaf series on this blog. In fact, in future posts, I’ll be exploring even more about the connection between happiness and plants. You can check back this Thursday for the first one. You can also get happiness tips when you sign up for my newsletter below!
Have a natural, happy week!
