Wake Up, Look Up

(0:08) Hello, everyone. (0:10) Thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening (0:15) in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (0:18) I'm Zach Weihrauch.
(0:19) And in today's episode, we're talking about societal ADHD, and we're asking the question, (0:24) can going for a walk help? (0:26) Now before I get into this, let me distinguish. (0:28) I'm using ADHD, almost more like a slang, to reference our inability to stay focused. (0:35) I'm not taking a shot at people who are actually diagnosed with ADHD.
(0:39) That's a real thing. (0:41) But societal ADHD, the inability to focus and to have attention on one thing, is a problem (0:47) we are creating. (0:48) It's a problem we can get out of, at least according to the New York Times recently, (0:53) which revealed a study out of the University of Michigan.
(0:56) I feel sick even saying that, that says that nature improves focus by 20%. (1:04) You can go up one-fifth in your attention span simply by getting outside. (1:10) Walking outside, being around nature, has been shown to boost attention, boost your (1:16) memory, far more, by the way, than even walking in an urban environment.
(1:22) And here's the thing. (1:23) This is what's fascinating about the study. (1:25) It showed that that didn't even, that wasn't even changed based on the weather.
(1:30) So as you think about Northeast Ohio right now, it's a great time to go for a walk. (1:34) It might not be in six or seven weeks. (1:35) But according to the University of Michigan, even going out to walk when the weather is (1:39) bad still helps improve your attention and your memory.
(1:43) There's just something about being outside. (1:46) In fact, they're calling it attention restoration theory. (1:50) There's something about nature that stimulates and brings us back to where we need to be (1:56) with attention and memory.
(1:57) And the reason why I want to focus on that is because who doesn't need attention restoration (2:03) therapy? (2:05) We are more distracted than we've ever been. (2:07) We can't focus the way we used to be able to focus. (2:11) It's changing our culture and the way back just might be a walk.
(2:16) So I want to give full support to getting out in nature, and I want to support that from (2:22) the Bible. (2:22) So let me attempt that argument. (2:24) Let's start with this.
(2:26) The Bible tells us that God is constantly looking to restore us. (2:31) In Psalm 22, the psalmist says, God restores my soul. (2:36) There's this understanding that in every culture, whether it was in ancient Hebrew culture or (2:41) today, there's a kind of withering that takes place.
(2:44) You start your day at a certain level, and the events of that day deplete you and diminish (2:49) you so that you actually need restoration. (2:53) And God wants to be the one who does it. (2:57) And of course, the question isn't whether God wants to do it or whether you need it.
(3:01) It's where that should happen. (3:04) And so you might find it interesting to note that Jesus himself seemed to look for that (3:10) in nature. (3:10) You can imagine Jesus' days were pretty depleting.
(3:14) I just read a passage the other day in Matthew 14 where Jesus goes on a boat to get away (3:19) from the crowds and sails to the other side of a lake, and when he gets there, there's (3:23) just another crowd waiting on him. (3:26) I can't imagine how depleted and diminished he felt at the end of the day, which is why (3:31) so often in passages like Luke 5.16, we find him getting away in nature to rest and recharge. (3:39) In fact, even the night he's arrested, which he knows it's coming, he goes into a garden (3:44) to pray.
(3:45) Jesus was looking for restoration. (3:48) He also believed that nature could teach us. (3:50) Think about Matthew 6 when he tells us that the cure for anxiety is considering the lilies (3:55) of the field or the birds of the air.
(3:59) Jesus understood that not only was nature restorative, not only was it an atmosphere (4:04) in which God could restore us, but also it had some lessons to teach us. (4:09) The reason why all this is important is because Christian growth is fundamentally about our (4:15) minds. (4:17) Romans 12 says that we need to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.
(4:21) A distracted mind, a mind that can't focus, a mind that has no attention span is a mind (4:28) that's going to have a tough time transforming. (4:30) Listen, do you feel that? (4:32) Do you feel how distracted you've become? (4:34) Do you feel how easily your mind wanders? (4:37) How tempting it is to fill every moment, to fill every space with a podcast or a song (4:44) or a television show or a conversation? (4:47) What if the spiritual growth you're craving, what if the relationship with God you're hungry (4:53) for is just a walk away? (4:56) No AirPods, no distraction, just a walk in which you have space to think, space to pray, (5:03) space to be ministered to, space to restore. (5:06) It's almost as though God is standing at your front door saying, I don't want you to (5:11) be withered.
(5:12) I want to renew you. (5:13) I want to restore you. (5:14) I want to transform you.
(5:16) Will you go on a walk with me? (5:20) And what science and the Bible are telling us is that if you will answer yes to that, (5:25) rain or shine, snow or warm, if you will answer yes to that, there is a new life waiting for (5:33) you. (5:33) You don't have to be distracted. (5:35) You don't have to lose your ability to focus.
(5:38) You just need to get outside. (5:41) Go for a walk. (5:42) Try it tomorrow with God and let him restore your soul.
(5:48) This episode of Wake Up, Look Up was produced by Marcus Cunningham and Hallie Andrews. (5:52) Our topic researcher is Shanna Young. (5:54) This episode was directed by Rima Saleh.
(5:57) Our podcast coordinator is Hallie Andrews. (6:00) Our production manager and audio wizard is Marcus Cunningham with tech and engineering (6:04) support from Matthew Adel and Landon Hall. (6:07) I'm your host, Zach Weihrauch.
(6:09) Join us for the next episode of Wake Up, Look Up.