And thus you fall into the trap of endlessly trying to convince the unconvincible, as if you could logically convince an atheist that God really does exist. Look, we all know nature is good for us. We’re just in an urban trap that has been building for 10k years. And if we had to wait for a randomized controlled study to demonstrate something, we would be waiting another ten thousand years. Nothing is wrong with ’emotional opinions’, otherwise known as speaking from the heart. In many cases this will be more convincing than citing a study about endorphins and brain scans taken while looking at pictures of trees. The best nature writings are in fact, appeals to the emotions.

Trying to, e.g., convince a city councilperson that the town needs more trails, should allow backyard chickens, or that we should all live in tepees is best done by reverse psychology, anyway: kids spend too much time playing video games, my grandpappy never had to pay a cent for eggs, housing costs are killing us. This lets the person make the logical leap themselves, and keeps you from trying to ram it down their throats.

BTW, I like your blog.

This comes at a perfect time for me.  I’m a barefoot runner, natural movement enthusiast, and I’ve been powered by REAL FOOD since 2008.  I’m a CPT and in training as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, but as far as my recommendations for physical activity, I try to encourage people to get OUT OF THE GYM AND GET OUTDOORS.  Great post to support this.

The needing evidence bit isn’t about how I conduct my day to day life, but pertains to what I think I should advocate here and elsewhere. I try not to just spout emotional opinions that aren’t rooted in some semblance of scientific underpinnings.