Nourish: Winter salmon pesto sandwiches

Easy-as-peas late winter pesto. (Surprise ingredient? guess!)

Nature: Take experiences over things

My latest dailymile blog post, Why exploring a new trail beats a new iPad every time, is the first in a new series over there called Destination: Run. The issue of what we as humans value more, experiences or things, has been a subject of debate for eons probably.

Interested in which of those you'll get more out of when it comes to a little thing called long-term emotional happiness?

Well, modern neuroscience is finding that experiences (such as exploring a new trail, taking your family on vacation or racing in an important-to-you event) offer a lot more for you in that department than the tangible items you buy. In the dailymile piece, I share a few bits of a recent TIME magazine article that explain the science behind this theory. But, the story's been in the news for quite some time. Last summer the New York Times reported:

[T]he practices that consumers have adopted in response to the economic crisis ultimately could — as a raft of new research suggests — make them happier. New studies of consumption and happiness show, for instance, that people are happier when they spend money on experiences instead of material objects, when they relish what they plan to buy long before they buy it, and when they stop trying to outdo the Joneses. ...

Thomas DeLeire, an associate professor of public affairs, population, health and economics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, recently published research examining nine major categories of consumption. He and Ariel Kalil of the University of Chicago discovered that the only category to be positively related to happiness was leisure: vacations, entertainment, sports and equipment like golf clubs and fishing poles.

More at dailymile.

Nature: Metaphoric sky blue + pink

"There is a great sense of freedom in soaring through the sky. You get a different perspective up there, seeing things that aren't so apparent from the ground." - Sonny Perdue, pilot

Image © Ilona Meagher | Boone County, IL - July 2011.

Nature: Daytime dragonflies, sunset daisy

Journey: Living life like an explorer

A new day brings with it endless possibilities. Commit to traveling an unknown pathway or opening a different gate every day.

Image © Ilona Meagher | Rusk County, WI - May 13, 2011.

Reflect: On flexibility and resilience

"In the face of strong winds, let me be a blade of grass. In the face of strong walls, let me be a gale of wind." -- Quaker saying

Image © Ilona Meagher | Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve. Cherry Valley, IL - September 2010.

Reflect: Before us is only possibility

"We all stand on the edge of life, each moment comprising the edge. Before us is only possibility." -- Rollo May

Image © Ilona Meagher | Green Lake, 1/19/11 - Seattle, WA

Nature: It does a body, mind + spirit good

Living in the upper Midwest, I always get a hankering to jet off somewhere warm right about now. But, what if you can't get away?

Studies show (the latest details on that in extended) that taking time to be in natural settings every day, getting outside for some fresh air and exercise, goes a long way in soothing and restoring us. Anything we pass that's green and growing shares its energy with us.

And, ironically, these explorations relax us, too.

So, I do the best I can to get outside -- even in the dead of winter. I bundle up and go for long walks or shovel the driveway; and, as long as it's 15F or higher, I'm happy to run outdoors -- ice and snow permitting.

But, it's not quite like relaxing on a sunny beach, is it?