Wilderness and Replenishment in Recovery
Back to Blog Posts

Wilderness and Replenishment in Recovery

Wilderness and Replenishment in Recovery

There is a healing ability offered in nature that cannot be explained or quantified. Nature has the innate ability to inspire, uplift, heal and bring the balance that nurtures and restores the body, mind, and soul. Surrounding yourself with nature can provoke thoughts surrounding your life's direction, the choices you make, and even motivate you to take the chances you have been putting on hold. Sometimes taking time to stop and look around you is all you need to remind yourself of all there is in life to appreciate and ponder. A stroll in nature might be all it takes to push you forward toward finding success.

Renewed Optimism

After years of struggling with the disease of addiction and then starting your recovery journey, seeking nature can be a great place to return you to the balance you have been missing from your life. Nature operates on a life cycle that grows, dies, and returns; therefore, this firsthand example of renewal in life and recovery can provide the best location for a fresh start. Examining how things deteriorate or are destroyed has a way of regenerating inspiration within yourself to understand that no matter how dark of cloud you have been through, you, like nature, can rebuild and restore yourself. Adopting this outlook can also benefit your optimism.

Nature and the Soul

Years of addiction can leave you feeling emotionally and spiritually drained. When navigating your way through the road to recovery, it takes surrounding yourself with supportive friends, family, and peers. Successful recovery also takes surrounding yourself with environments that also provide comfort, care, and motivation. Utilizing nature in your surroundings can be just as beneficial as how you outfit your home's security. Nature is a surrounding that can help boost morale. A long walk on a nature trail, rock climbing, or just sitting under a tree can help you look inward and reconnect with the meaning, direction, and purpose in your soul. These activities in nature provide the arena for self-reflection, self-discovery, and meditation. Nature landscapes help to bring vitality in healing and finding spiritual experiences.

Physical Recovery

Exercise is not limited to gym memberships or home gyms. Nature provides all the amenities and opportunities needed to restore and expand upon your physical needs. Whether it's the mountains, the desert, a trail, or the park, there is a multitude of activities that you can participate in either alone or with others. Such activities include swimming, hiking, biking, running, walking, etc. Exercise can be incorporated into a healthier lifestyle and help you get out of the hum-drum predictability when exercising at a gym or home.

While you do not have to get all of your exercises outdoors, implementing some nature into your regimen can help keep you feeling refreshed and focused on moving forward. You can even start small by planning a nature hike or run once a month.

Nature Promotes Continuing Recovery

Recovery is a lifelong process. Repeat this, make it your mantra: recovery is a lifelong process, recovery is a lifelong process. The sooner you can understand this, the better you will make healthier decisions regarding your life and recovery. Allowing nature to be a part of this process can become a pillar of support for longevity. Nature provides the landscape and atmosphere for breeding positive thoughts. Nature also helps to fill those moments in the day when you feel lost over what to do. For example, nature can provide healing hobbies such as gardening and tending to indoor plants. It can also offer inspiring conditions for meditating, drawing, painting, or writing. Or, nature can keep you company when enjoying your morning coffee or tea out on the deck, the porch, or by the window. The natural environment has a distinct way of helping you see your place in the world and how beautiful it is to be alive with nature, and this can be a very profound epiphany for your life and recovery.

The closer you get to nature, the sooner you realize your connection to nature and how it is essential for survival. Nature is always a reminder that things are constantly changing in life and how these things are necessary to help support the world's health as a whole. Much like in recovery, you will come to understand that everything within needs to function deliberately and in harmony to reflect a healthy and lasting recovery.


At START UP RECOVERY, we believe the pursuit of lasting recovery should come without limitations. The profound power of nature can further create an awakening and awareness of your potential within and with others. Our goal is to help you fully realize your surroundings to know yourself and your purpose. Much like having a healthy support network of friends, family, and peers, you also need a healthy support network of nature. With a shoreline Southern California location, we at START UP RECOVERY can provide the abundance of inspiration that nature has to offer. The goal is to help you realize your potential and possibilities. Doing so will take being able to overcome the reservations you might have about yourself and others to see how much opportunity is all around you. It all begins with taking that first step. If you feel as though you are stuck or limited in your recovery, then it is time to act and seek help. To learn more, call START UP RECOVERY today at 310-773-3809.

Back to Blog Posts