Restoration on Campus

We have learned through lectures and our readings that Directed Attention Fatigue will make it more difficult for people to participate in sustainable behaviors. Amel et al. describes how "mindful attentiveness may be necessary to develop sustainable habits" and "feeling connected to the world outside of ourselves is a precondition for sustainable action" (2009). Unfortunately, being surrounded nature, as students of the University of Michigan, is more difficult than it may seem.

Our culture glorifies being busy. Working hard is the goal, and our competitive environment looks down on free time and taking breaks, working directly against our need to restore. Society is one of the many aspects that hinders us from restoring our attention.

Our environment is also problematic. We sit in a room all day with no colors, and we go to school in an urban environment. Thereforem in order to be in nature, it takes a lot of directed attention to make the decision and plan out our day to go there and find time to spend in nature.

In addition, Michigan turns cold around the month of October, when the leaves fall off the trees and the color goes away. People are less likely to be willing or wanting to take engaged walks outside, because they are not necessarily compatible with the cold environment. Does nature have the same restorative effect for someone who despises the cold?

So many things about our way of life, even outside the university, hinder the ability to be in nature to restore our Directed Attention. As a senior, I am thinking about my future and where I will live. I plan to graduate and live in a city, although I recognize that there are only minimal aspects of nature in cities such as Chicago or D.C. Like the Michigan campus, it will take Directed Attention to plan time into my schedule to spend time in nature, even though it is something that I truly enjoy. The use of social media is on the rise, which means more time spent online in front of a screen. How many examples can you think of when people go on a hike and take time from mindfully experiencing nature to take a picture to post on Facebook or Snapchat? Also, the majority of jobs for recent graduates take place working at a desk in front of a screen. There is a public health push for health and increased movement in our daily lives, yet we go to gyms instead of taking a walk outside, with the option to stare at a picture of a lake or desert on our screen while we run on the treadmill.

With all of these trends hindering our ability to be in and mindfully appreciate nature, How can cities be changed to make more natural and restorative environments? How can offices and the workplace be changed to encourage people to be outside?

I want to talk about an experience I participated in while studying abroad in South Africa last semester. It was an event called Secret Sunrise, which took place on the first Thursday of every month. Early in the morning, residents of Cape Town, ranging from university students and young adults to business people and families, gathered at a secret location only announced one day before the event. It was also a secret, because everyone used wireless headphones connected to the same music and person leading it. The event centered on guided energetic meditation focused on welcoming the sun and positive energy into our days. Secret Sunrise mornings were definitely some of my most memorable mornings of my study abroad experience.

Secret Sunrise relates to our class for many reasons. First, the environment was consistently fascinating because it was a surprise and different every month. It also set up the entire day with fully restored directed attention and energy, because we were participating both in movement and mindfulness appreciation of the earth around us. I think that guided meditation should be implemented and normalized much more often in the university setting, especially energetic meditation to offset the hours and hours we spend sitting at a desk. Can you think of anything that is similar to Secret Sunrise here in Ann Arbor?