Nature is balm for the soul. Whenever I feel stressed, I step outside my office and into my garden to dig around in the dirt for a few minutes. Studying the landscape, I inevitably regain a sense of balance and beauty about my surroundings. Internally, I simply feel better having stepped outside the scope of my day-to-day routine.

Even urban folks who work a mile-high in the sky can benefit from Nature’s bounty. Rooftop gardening has gained popularity in recent years. The Chicago City Hall has designed a garden atop its building. Tokyo, with over 30 million in the greater metropolitan area, enjoys over 100 hectares of stories-high greenery. In fact, the Tokyo government has ordered that number grow to 1,000 hectares by the year 2017. Rooftop gardens contribute to the cooling of the building and of the Earth itself.

If you’re in need of a quick alignment to reembrace the power of slow, go green by going outdoors. Even a houseplant in the wintertime can yield a sense of calm. Dig your fingers into the soil. You might even find a snail, the ultimate slow-goer!