The faculties of nature have been default settings in which the human self finds optimum functioning of its entire being. Moving away from the blues and greens then to settle in the greys of concrete, no matter how splashed they might be with colors of chemical composition has been not the most comfortable of spaces to be living in. Armed though with a fake sense of wellbeing, we have for long managed to amble along the alleys of the urbane as if it were the utopia we are privileged to inhabit. The luxury is only transient, as one would come to discover as harsh assertions of truth and in no time we would be scrambling for the greens and the blues for our souls to find succour.
For the greens, this residing in a color of usefulness in context of the human health has been more revered in their richness. Whether it be the function in purifying the all important air we breathe or simply staring into the greens as a means in affording better eyesight, no matter its prevailing as a myth rather, the greenery of nature has been forever regarded as being true to its identity in bearing the essence of life. Not so conducive has been the regard that the blues have lived in, with its very reference invoking the ‘spirit’ of sorrow for both body and mind.
But change being the only constant manifesting as the ultimate truth in and despite all its conveying as an oxymoron and the blues have earned for themselves also a parallel recognition in healthiness. So much so in fact that the blues have today even outpaced the greens when it comes to their scouting as agents aiding immensely the overall wellbeing of the human across all of its complex diversity.
Like greenspace therefore, blue space too is emerging to be a concept of equal consideration though the timeline through which it has existed as a relatively recent phenomenon is something ‘validated’ by the not yet singular- or let’s say not yet wholesome expression of referring. The benefits of it though have been more emphatic in assertion, which is what matters foremost in the blues getting to bask finally in a glory of what it has always possessed but not flaunted.
After all, the color that blue primarily emerges in conjuring up visions of the calm and comforting already makes it well equipped to dissipate the vibes of healthfulness. And that indeed is the premise upon which it works as well in helping the human find comfort in. Just about a decade old concept of such consideration, blue spaces has since been accessed in attempts to avail the many benefits of them. But it has only been in the more current years that this natural expanse composed by the many streaks and shades of blue have been navigated across in the deeper reaches of them.
It though wouldn’t be only the view that blue presents as a scattering of the colors of light that has since bathed it in a hue of haleness and heartiness. It also is as much the ambience of its creating that has led blue spaces to come across as favourable in their fanning the winds of a changed character. Also associated would be the sounds characterising this scape of the earth, the ‘language’ of water indeed through it creates symphonies and narrates stories of consequences pleasant enough to soothe the seekings of formless souls as well as the entities of their shaping.
Exploring blue space in the core context of healthy living occurs in a specific notion of blue health. The idea of this articulation being that being in close proximity to water bodies brings about a range of opportunities in optimum existence for the human. The capacity in which such benefits make clear their character is one largely entailed as effects of therapy, since the conditions of our own creating have largely restricted us from enjoying the privileges that nature has always entitled us to.
Living by the sea or near the ocean then seems to be the easy way in availing the health benefits of blue spaces. That of course is not a viable prospect for the entire human population but even for those who actually have their living abodes closer to the waterscape, blue health might be equally contended a proposition. With everything from accessibility to pollution- to name just a few indeed, posing as problems in reaping the riches of the blues, blue health might be more challenging in striving for its achievement.
Physical and mental health is both accounted for in this concept of blue health and in extents and intensities even greater than what the more traditional regarding of the greens does. Think about it beyond the technicalities of what an attribution of the conceptual essence intricates it as and the evidence of such happenings become more palpable. This power of the blue is one of the factors that have sustained the idea of beach vacations and chilling by the pool as universal ideas in relaxation and rewinding. And indeed, the moment you are out there somewhere amidst the glimmering waters presenting as an expanse in blue, you feel for yourself the instant sense of calmness and relief and bliss washing over your being in therapeutic renditions of the sea of benefits.
That water is life is a truth that needs no establishing but this notion of human health being profoundly influenced by the scapes holding this elixir of existence is an expression in even more dynamic dimensions of the distinction. The ways in which the blues go about this aspect of their business too is a multilinear emergence, with everything from personal and social and psychological strand converging upon this limitless liaison of holistic character.
Why blue spaces work in endowing vitality and wellness is something that innately flow through its nature as being an ambient environment for life to sustain. Typically occurring along the shores and sands are such conditions that brim with life itself, with everything from greater amounts of sunlight to purer, cooler feels of air being guaranteed agents of perky minds and pinker healths. It helps also that these spots of the earth are also more encouraging in urging the human to engage with the irrefutable charms of what it holds. Water sports can be a more indulgent option but even basic activities of walking for instance is something quite the norm along beaches, even when one claims that stretch by the sea as a ‘buy’ of their vacationing plans.
Forget activity, even the mindless exercise in breathing the seaside air provides with a dose of health, relating to the mental reception of it. This is because the air there is charged with negative ions that exert a positive effect on our mood by ensuring an ambient level of the serotonin flow. In an unrelated but irrefutable again assertion, the ebb and tide of the waters can be a reason as well, that along with other factors sums up largely the meditative quality that seas and oceans possess indeed.
But laying claim to the immense powers of the seas and oceans and even rivers can be limited by various natures of inaccessibility. Whether one doesn’t have the resources to end up by the beach or finds themselves really in need of the blue dose at a inopportune time, relying on the natural demarcation of blue spaces might not always be an obligation easily addressed. This is where the concept of blue spaces as a mode of everyday living and not just a prescription in therapy steps in to ensure that the identity of water as a life giving and life saving element is help up in its essence.
It is wondrous indeed an assertion of the fluidity that water posses as a property of its defining that makes it effective also in attending to the concerns of the human even in their own versions of its tapping. That is to say, built in renditions of the watery scape as pools or fountains for instance can be close calls in harvesting water for the human needs that do not assert under a description of daily activities. It would still be a far cry from ushering in the entire range of what the natural bodies of water offer as part of their inculcating the generous spirit. But as far as the idea in something being better than nothing is honored, an artificial iteration of the blue character tends close to much wholesomeness.
It also isn’t only and entirely about choosing to be around blue spaces in the present. As far as the emotionally rewarding attribution of the blues is concerned, the relation seems to be rather long standing. People with perceived greater harbouring of a generally positive attitude tends to draw a lot of their congeniality from the access to the waterscape they had enjoyed during their childhood. In fact, so thumping would be the manner of this association that the color blue seems to edge out pretty much every other expression of the natural environment in this premise of being quite the psychological winner.
Boosting mood and wellness, lowering stress and anxiety are some of the general ways in which blue spaces obviously spell out their benefits. A more specific relaying of these desirabilities though presents the water power as being even greater a wonder in proclaiming prominence. Reduced obesity and improved respiratory health for instance make for striking assertions in the physical regard while the mental domain takes into account everything from a greater self confidence to an improved recovery from addiction.
All it should take then for so many of us struggling with issues in existing even is a mere exposure to the aesthetics of what can be summed up within the blue alluding. It would as well, if we happen to be mindful enough and consciously seek to soak in the calm curations of this particular color of natural abundance. Even man made constructs can be viable and so would be the greens and other colors of the world of nature but there still is something very dreamy about the blues that the referring to it in such terms had long downplayed. Now that we have managed to discover in serendipity almost this buoyant being of the blues, we would be better off with them occupying also a significant chunk of the realer rainbow that we live through as the variegated beauty of life.