Earlier this year, we hosted psychologist and Year of Rest Recipient, Ciara Dennis-Morgan at Getaway Beaver Creek outside of Pittsburgh and Cleveland so she could enjoy some much-deserved free time in nature. Here’s what she had to share with us about herself, her work, and her escape to nature.
On Her Work
I am a psychologist and I serve as the Clinical Director of a Black owned, state certified, nationally accredited mental health agency and I’m the founder of a wellness company. I provide therapy, assessments, training and a variety of services through a culturally specific Lens. I also work with special populations such as Black pregnant and postpartum women.
On Getting Away
Our Getaway was great. If felt necessary. We are planning to go again and also thinking of ways to include our loved ones. It enhanced my relationship to rest. It allowed me to have a new experience that connected me with ways I return to self. It was a reminder that not much is needed.
On Disconnecting
My favorite ways to disconnect include:
Yoga/ movement practices – move energy through body. Yolk mind body and spirit.
Time alone in solitude—create space and just be.
A drink! (Smoothie, tea, wine)—Enjoying a beverage helps me to enjoy the simple things.
There’s nothing better than finally finding time to get outside and enjoy the world around you. Exploring green spaces is an easy way to improve both health and happiness by lowering stress, blood pressure, and heart rate.
We’re big proponents of spending time outside – whether it’s by taking a quick stroll or even just sitting beside a roaring campfire. Here are some of our favorite ways to spend time in nature.
Go For A Hike
Get your endorphins moving for an extra dose of stress belief by working out in nature. Whether you’re a beginner hiker or you’ve been hiking trails for years, there’s a hike for you near all our Outposts. Pack a celebratory lunch to enjoy from the summit and soak up the natural beauty around you.
Take a Walk in the Woods
If you’re looking for something a little more relaxed, simply taking a stroll through the trees will still do wonders for your health and mindset. The Japanese tradition of forest bathing holds that simply being in the forest is a form of preventive health care, so relax with a gentle stroll.
Listen to a Soothing Playlist or Podcast
Sometimes there’s nothing better than sitting and listening to a well-curated playlist or podcast. Whether it’s old classics you haven’t heard in a long time, or you’re taking the time to explore something new, the pro-tip is to download and save whatever your mind is craving before you head to the wilderness. Then you can listen and enjoy completely offline.
Read a Nature Guidebook
Take the opportunity in nature to learn more about the world around you. Bring out a book to learn about the different types of trees around you. Find literature that will teach you about the bird calls you’re hearing. Have fun identifying new aspects of nature to love and appreciate.
Just Be
Everyone could some time to slow down and just be. Allow yourself to do nothing by sitting, relaxing, and soaking in some greenery. Afterwards, you’ll be happy you did.
Looking for a place to reset in nature? Book your escape to a tiny cabin now.
It’s no surprise that nature-based causes are close to our hearts here at Getaway. It can feel overwhelming to think about helping our favorite natural spots, to ensure that they’re still as beautiful and vibrant as we remember them to be. However, taking action locally in small, but consistent ways, is one of the best ways we can have a larger impact on those causes that are most important to us.
Here are some ways you can get involved in some of our favorite nature-based causes in your local community.
Plant a tree.
Planting a tree is a great way to support the natural ecosystem in your neighborhood. In fact, one of the best ways to counteract some of the effects of climate change is to plant more trees as they filter air, absorb carbon dioxide, and reduce ozone levels. They also help our mental health—and for many of us, we have memories of climbing trees as kids, reading books under their shade, or swinging below their branches.
This is why we partnered with One Tree Planted, so that every time you Getaway, one tree is also planted, meaning that our planet gets more trees and more people can have nature in their lives.
Support local parks.
Make it a point to support your favorite local park. There are a few ways to do this. The easiest way is to simply spend more time at your local parks, and use the parks responsibly by respecting any policies or rues like “carry-in, carry-out” that are intended to keep the park clean and safe for everyone who wants to spend time there. You can also do some research to see what boards or recreational committees make decisions about your favorite local park, and you can get involved by either joining those committees or simply voting in town hall meetings and local elections to make sure your voice is heard and considered.
Buy a national park pass.
It’s no secret that during peak seasons there’s a fee to enter many national parks. These fees are important because they help pay for the people and programs that maintain our national parks, but if you live close to one, or you go to a national park pretty regularly, you can consider buying a national park pass. This will be cheaper in the long run if you do go to national parks regularly, but it will also encourage you to make time to go to national parks more since you’ve already paid for a pass if you don’t feel like you go to any parks enough.
Look for a community garden near you.
Community gardens are becoming more popular, especially in urban areas. These are typically vacant lots that are transformed into spaces that provide everyone access to fresh produce, increase property values, and build a stronger sense of community. Sometimes the produce is even sold at farmers’ markets to raise money for community initiatives. Once you find a community garden you can get involved by signing up to help plant new seeds, water plants, and harvest any produce.
Ride your bike or walk.
Spend some extra time outside by riding your bike or walking rather than driving for five or ten minutes. Not only is this always a great option for your physical and mental health, but it’s also great for the environment.
Clean up your favorite trails.
Bring along a small garbage bag on your hikes, and pick up any trash or litter you find along the way. Pulling it from the trail will make the trail more beautiful, and it will keep things that take a long time to decompose like plastic away from any animals that might live there.
Check out a local farmer’s market.
Support local farmers in your area by heading to the farmer’s market instead of the grocery store. When you buy produce or a product directly from the farmer, you can be sure that your food is not only fresh but that the money you’re paying for it will directly help those who harvested it.
We believe time spent in nature is always valuable, so this Earth Day, we want to highlight some organizations working to protect and grow the natural landscape we love so much.
We especially wanted to pay attention to groups working to better the natural environment in all our cities, so local communities can enjoy the greenery they need.
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention our friends at One Tree Planted, an organization aimed at global reforestation by planting trees around the world. For every booking made with Getaway, we plant one tree with One Tree Planted. In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, we’re planting 10 trees for every booking made.
Also dedicated to addressing deforestation and tree loss, Trees Atlanta works on the local level to plant trees, conserve nature, and educate the community about the importance of preserving natural urban forest.
The Charles River Conservancy works to protect and renew the parklands around the Charles River. With over 2,000 volunteers and a number of clean-up projects throughout the year, the conservancy is a great place to begin environmental volunteering.
The DC Environmental Network works to restore the Capital’s urban environment. With monthly meetings, the network’s members exchange educational information develop strategies to confront local environmental issues, including air pollution, neighborhood trash, and degradation of the Anacostia River.
Originally created the same year and with the same spirit as the first Earth Day, GrowNYC works to transform communities block by block into cleaner and healthier environments. With policy programs, educational resources, and garden building, the organization is a great place to volunteer or donate.
We hosted photographer and Artist fellow, Christian Garcia at Getaway Chattahoochee outside of Atlanta last year. We took some time to chat with him to hear about his creative process, his Getaway, and his connection to nature. Here’s what he had to say:
My name is Christian Garcia. I am a photographer and videographer based in Atlanta, GA. I have been pursuing visuals for 5 + years and it has been the best few years of my life. It has caused me to grow and learn so much about the world around me. It has taken me places that I could only dream of.
My connection to nature has urged me to capture more and more in the outdoors. I want to create short films of being outdoors, pushing frontiers very few have accomplished or seen. To capture stories to share what nature means to others as well.
My Getaway experience was great! It let me recharge and escape the busyness of metro Atlanta. It was the recharge and escape I needed to write down goals and dreams to pursue in the months ahead. The campfire was a plus to make it feel wild.
To anyone considering a stay at Getaway, I recommend staying for two nights. Having a full day of disconnection from distractions is so beneficial – bring books and something to write on and with!
In a world dominated by overworking, there’s no better way than to rebalance it with an appreciation of art. We think a great way to balance work and life is to incorporate your passion into what you do. One of our Artist Fellows, Nicole Chan, does just that: she is a ‘recovering management consultant and a recent escapee from the three-walled prison known as corporate cubicles’, turned professional photographer.
I had a full travel schedule every Monday-Thursday, and after several years, I burned out.
Nicole studied finance and upon graduation, got a job offer she was excited about, but the buzz eventually wore off once she realized how tiring 100+ hour weeks were: “I had a full travel schedule every Monday-Thursday, and after several years, I burned out.”
Photo by Nicole Chan Photography
She decided to leave her job and start her own photography business, in line with her passion for filmmaking and creating engaging visual content. We’re glad she did — take a look at a few of the stunning photos she created at our tiny cabins here — and read on to learn a little bit more about Nicole and her tips for starting your own business.
What occupies most of your time during the day? Though I’m a photographer, I spend a lot of my day doing non-shooting things on the marketing and operational side of the business. Editing and post-processing, shoot production, and making sure that my clients are taken care of!
What occupies most of your time during the weekend? I photograph a lot – my friends, Siberian Husky, food that I’m eating. I love trying new things and sharing those experiences with friends.
Burnout is real and being miserable bled into my personal relationships, sleep habits, stress levels, and ultimately, my health.
How did you decide to leave your job to start your own business? Burnout is real and being miserable bled into my personal relationships, sleep habits, stress levels, and ultimately, my health. I asked myself difficult questions: Is now the right time to leave my job? It was 2010 and at the peak of the recession. I had a stable job, while almost everyone around me was getting laid off. What kind of part-time job could I get to financially support myself as I transition? Is photography even a viable career? Do I have the personality traits to be an entrepreneur? What will I do about healthcare? Should I really tap into my savings? How risk averse am I? Do I have the support of my family and close friends? Then, after I assessed my situation, I slept on it. I took a rest and made sure that I didn’t make any decisions based on emotional impulse. These calculated decisions needed to be made carefully.
The Siberian Husky. By Nicole Chan.
What do you wish you had more time to do? Nothing. As in sitting and doing nothing. My husband recently got me a Kindle, and I’m super excited to carve out time to unwind, relax, and do nothing.
What do you wish you did less of? Cleaning. I hate cleaning. I suck at cleaning.
What is your favorite tech or app that helps you balance your life? Google Calendar. Because I work for myself, it’s easy to constantly be working, checking emails, thinking about new business ventures, etc. With Google Calendar, I block out days that I am completely unavailable for any sort of work, and force myself to disconnect.
Blocking out days is key. How do you manage work-life balance? I’m still learning. I try to read a lot about efficiency, being a passionate leader, and managing a highly productive team. Taking frequent “free days” and scheduling in “buffer days” and “focus days” (Entrepreneurial Time System) has helped a lot with making sure that I don’t work all hours of the day and spend quality time with the people that I care about the most. With a smartphone constantly attached to me, it’s a struggle.
Taking frequent “free days” and scheduling in “buffer days” and “focus days” has helped a lot with making sure that I don’t work all hours of the day.
What do you think you’d be doing in a world without technology? I’d get really good at building fires and making the world’s best s’more. The key is to use chocolate chip cookies instead of graham crackers and to use dark chocolate with hazelnut bits.
Who is your favorite writer? Agatha Christie. She never ceases to blow my mind. I love getting lost in mystery fiction.
Portrait of a Getaway, by Nicole Chan.
When and where are you happiest? In bed. No alarm clock. Fried chicken and waffles in bed.
How do you create balance in your life? I have a gratitude journal that reminds me of how lucky I am to live the life I have. I create balance by spending time with the people that enable me and inspire me — my family and friends. I volunteer frequently. I give before I receive. I meditate. I try extremely hard to bring positivity into every situation.
When I returned back from my two-night stay in the cabins, I felt refreshed and ready to tackle any and all business challenges. Sometimes a small break is all I need to reflect and to give myself a little mental break.
Lastly, having your own hustle, do you ever get burned out? Yes. I first jotted down a business plan on a napkin, then I ran with it. I hustled day and night. I read every entrepreneurship book I could. I networked and had countless lunches with everyone that gave me the time of day. Making this business flourish became a mission. I’m not sure that I realized how determined I could be until this point in my life. I believe that through entrepreneurship, you learn a lot about yourself: your passions, work ethic, strengths, and shortcomings. Even now, burnout is real. I love what I do. I get completely engulfed in it. This is why experiences like Getaway is important. I could disconnect to reconnect. When I returned back from my two-night stay in the cabins, I felt refreshed and ready to tackle any and all business challenges. Sometimes a small break is all I need to reflect and to give myself a little mental break.
It probably comes as no surprise to learn that even when you think you’re just spacing out, your brain is awake with activity. When you aren’t focused on anything in particular, the areas of your brain responsible for processing emotions, recalling memories, and thinking about the future are working at full capacity. But it wasn’t until the early 2000s that we started to understand how the resting brain processes information.
In a 2001 study, Washington University professor Marcus Raichle and his colleagues classified the “resting” state of a brain as the default mode of brain function, and the areas of the brain that control it the Default Mode Network, or DMN. The DMN consists of four parts: the medial temporal lobe, responsible for long-term memory; the medial prefrontal cortex, which manages thoughts and actions relating to internal goals; and the posterior cingulate cortex, which has been linked to autobiographical memory. This network of brain regions is essential to our ability to reflect on ourselves, our motivations, and our past, leading some researchers to believe that it may be highly influential in the development of our sense of self.
This range of daydreams has lead some to believe that reining in a wandering mind is key to living a balanced mental life.
This makes sense. When we are left with time to daydream, our internal monologue starts. People who daydream more tend to have a more active DMN, which has been linked to both feelings of depression and creativity. Researchers have even identified three different types of daydreams that both affect and are affected by a person’s emotional state when their DMN is active: positive constructive daydreaming with playful, wishful thoughts; guilty-dysphoric daydreaming characterized by guilty, pained thoughts; and poor attention control, characterized by an inability to focus on internal or external thoughts.
This range of daydreams has led some to believe that reining in a wandering mind is key to living a balanced mental life. Buddhism has promoted quieting ones internal monologue through meditation for thousands of years. In his book Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, Buddhist scholar Chögyam Trungpa wrote that meditation is “necessary generally because our thinking pattern, our conceptualized way of conducting our lives in the world, is either too manipulative, imposing itself upon the world, or else runs completely wild and uncontrolled.”This may be true: researchers have found links between depressive rumination and the DMN, as well asevidencethat meditation can reduce default mode activity.
What’s most important though is to give yourself time and space to reflect on where you mind takes itself when you let it wander.
Ultimately, the nature of one’s default mode is highly dependant on their mental and emotional states, which in turn play significant roles in where the mind wanders when they are alone with their thoughts. If someone is already depressed, an active DMN may cause them to ruminate on that depression, leading to further anxiety. The issue isn’t with the DMN itself, but getting stuck in a particular default mode and being unable to break out of it.
So how can you use your DMN to your advantage? Meditation is, of course, one way to gain control over your brain’s default mode and to develop mindfulness. In fact, researchers have found that extended meditation practices can rewire the DMN, potentially helping someone who feels chronically depressed shift their default mode entirely. What’s most important though is to give yourself time and space to reflect on where your mind takes itself when you let it wander. Luckily, we have the perfect places to do that.
No outdoor adventure is complete without a campfire and no campfire is complete with a toasty s’more. That’s why we’ve put together a list of our favorite tips and tricks for the perfect gooey and chocolatey treat.
Get extra toasty. There’s nothing worse than unmelted chocolate. Set up your graham cracker and chocolate on top on a piece of foil and place it near the fire. Spin it periodically to make sure the chocolate warms evenly. When you put your marshmallow on, the chocolate will melt every time.
Know yourself. The marshmallow makes or breaks a good s’more. Whether you like your marshmallows golden brown or nearly burnt, make sure to keep an eye out for your preferred gooeyness.
Just keep spinning. For the perfect s’more, consistency is key. Keep spinning the marshmallow when you toast it, so it cooks evenly, especially when you have a bigger fire.
Eat and repeat. The only thing tastier than one warm, sweet treat is two.
