Touching grass doesn't help me much. I can sit in the grass and think nothing for a while, and it feels good. But the effect doesn't last.
But today I went to the local beach and I got my toes wet with seawater, watched the waves and threw in some pebbles, trying to skip stones. And I felt human for the first time in a while, and I do get these pangs of "I gotta go to the beach" every summer when it's hot out.
So anyway here's my theory of elemental mental recovery:
You gotta find the element that works for you to ground you back into reality. You might have multiple, for example fire works for me during the long winters as well. Then you gotta do an activity based on that to really feel like a human again.
- Air: find the biggest meadow you can go to, walk to the middle and feel the breezes, wear clothes that sway in the wind, go high up and take in the sights
- Earth: take a long walk, find a hill and climb it, look at different rocks, touch rocks, take one home (you now have a pet rock)
- Fire: make a campfire (safely and legally), grill some food, soak in the warmth of a fire, look into the flames at night
- Water: go to the sea / lake, look at the waves, soak in your toes in water, go swimming in it, smell the salty / clear air
- Wood: go into the forest, touch grass, pick up some flowers, make a flower crown, find fresh berries to eat
