“Observe How the Lilies Grow”: Nature and the Ruminating Mind

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus answers worry by pointing his listeners outdoors: look at the birds (6:26), observe the lilies (6:28). His argument is about the Father’s care: “will He not much more clothe you?” (6:30). But his method is attention. He asks anxious people to look closely at living things. This addition extends the paper’s Section 8 on Matthew 6:34, “Do not worry about tomorrow.”

A walk that quiets rumination. Bratman, Hamilton, Hahn, Daily, and Gross (2015) randomly assigned healthy adults to a 90-minute walk either through a natural area near Stanford University or along a busy city street. Those who walked in nature reported less rumination afterward, and they showed less activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex, a brain region linked to brooding and to depression risk. Those who walked by traffic showed no such change.

How much time outdoors? White and colleagues (2019) studied 19,806 people in a nationally representative English survey. Compared with no time in nature in the past week, spending at least 120 minutes was associated with higher odds of reporting good health and high well-being. The benefit leveled off around 200 to 300 minutes, and it didn’t matter whether the time came in one visit or several. The pattern held for older adults and people with long-term health conditions.

What the studies cannot tell us. The walking study was small. The 120-minute finding comes from a single survey and can’t show cause, since healthier people may simply go outside more. Jesus’s point is the Father’s care, not a prescription for time in nature. But the convergence is with his method. Looking closely at creation seems to interrupt the worried, self-focused loop, and Jesus used it to turn worried minds toward God.

Practice

Living it out

Five practices drawn from this passage. Each says how strong the research behind it is. What the labels mean.

1. 1

   Take your worry for a walk outdoors

   When you’re stuck in a loop, walk somewhere green for at least 30 minutes, and pray as you go.

   ModerateA 90-minute nature walk reduced rumination and related brain activity in a small randomized study (Bratman et al., 2015).
2. 2

   Aim for two hours a week outdoors

   Spread it however you like.

   ModerateAt least 120 minutes a week in nature was associated with better health and well-being in a large survey (White et al., 2019). The data are cross-sectional.
3. 3

   Look closely at one living thing

   On a walk, stop and study one bird, flower, or tree for a full minute, then thank God for it.

   ObedienceObedience. Commended by Jesus (Matt. 6:26, 28). Close observation itself was not tested.
4. 4

   Move the meeting outside

   Hold a one-on-one or a prayer time on a walk instead of in an office.

   EarlyEarly, by inference from the nature-walk research above.
5. 5

   Take the family out weekly

   Make a walk, hike, or park visit a weekly family habit.

   ModerateModerate that nature contact is linked to well-being across groups (White et al., 2019).

Studies cited on this page2

1. ↗ Bratman, G. N., Hamilton, J. P., Hahn, K. S., Daily, G. C., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(28), 8567–8572. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510459112
2. ↗ White, M. P., Alcock, I., Grellier, J., Wheeler, B. W., Hartig, T., Warber, S. L., Bone, A., Depledge, M. H., & Fleming, L. E. (2019). Spending at least 120 minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 7730. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44097-3