Gilles Gui was looking for the magical purple bluebells that raise their heads each spring under the budding beech leaves of Belgium’s Hallerbos forest, an annual explosion of colour that draws crowds from around the world.
And in these times full of stress and anxiety about wars, economic threats, and other tensions, he found something else too: a sense of tranquility.
“I notice that there’s a lot of silence in my head when I’m done,” the 26-year-old said. “Yeah, it helps me keep some peace in my mind, really just take my mind away from everything that’s going on”.
Hallerbos wood is awash with bluebells this time of year, and has been described as a “living pharmacy for your psyche”.
Spending time in nature, experts have long said, can be a balm in troubled times.
It has been linked to lower stress, better mood, improved attention, and a lower risk of psychiatric disorders, among other benefits, the American Psychological Association said in 2020.
“These are extraordinary times” with “a lot of international uncertainty,” said Ignace Glorieux, a sociology professor at Brussels University, adding that people under 30 are under particular pressure after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So especially this group, maybe more than [the older] generation, is suffering from that and feels very uncertain about their future,” Glorieux added.
The bluebell woods offer a ‘big green hug’
During the pandemic, the bluebell woods were closed off for fear that throngs of people would make it a hive of transmission instead of a haven of peace. Restrictions kept some parks under seal and mandated masks in some others.
“It was a difficult period for everyone,” said Mark Demesmaeker, a former member of the European Parliament, gardening enthusiast, and city councilor in Halle, where he has walked the woods for decades.
Now, at least, nature is there to welcome those with anxious minds.
“These bluebells – but in other times of year as well, walking here, the forest valleys, the wildlife, the forest streams – you know, they work into your mind all year round. And it’s really a big green hug that you get here,” Demesmaeker said.
That hug from nature is just about everywhere right now. Japan is awash in a sea of cherry blossoms, which mesmerise people around the world.
Bluebell season also coincides with the prime tulip season in the Netherlands, where the renowned Keukenhof garden has become a playground for influencers and those seeking that ultimate selfie.
Put down the phone?
The Keukenhof and the Dutch tourism board suggest good spots to “make your image come alive”.
To Glorieux, that’s where 21st-century humans push it too far.
“We have to be busy all the time, even in our leisure time,” he said. “We have to perform”.
Instead, he advised, “Focus! If you go out walking, focus on walking. If you go out jogging, focus only on jogging”.
Such advice was not wasted on Philippe Thiry, 64, a southern Belgian who recently retired and is ready to embrace the rest of his life. He had no phone as he set off in the sunshine to look for bluebells.
“I don’t want to use it here because I’m here just to relax,” he said. “I mean, just to see the flowers and to see, to listen to the birds”.
“I want to be disconnected”.
