Nestled between two mountain ranges, sparkling blue lakes, and sprawling evergreen forests, Seattle has a way of attracting robust adventurers of every kind. Outdoor outfitters like REI and Filson began and still thrive here, giving the appearance that Seattle is a hotbed for laid-back, nature-seeking nomads untethered from the demands of everyday life. While that's true to a degree, Seattlites are also susceptible to becoming productivity machines if they aren't careful. As one of the prominent big tech cities on the West Coast (home to Amazon, Microsoft, and more), the city is ripe with opportunities and ways to advance one's career. If left unchecked, however, that can lead to overwork, burnout, and isolation from the splendorous nature, culture, and creativity all around. A recent Seattle Met article found that "the fast-paced, deadline-driven environments at major tech and aerospace companies have added to the same pressures burdening workers in other businesses and markets: shorthanded teams, longer days, and minimal time off." Seattle has an innate beauty and is one of the best cities for public parks, hikes, and getaways, but an intentional effort must be made to access said nature in the first place. Most people associate Seattle with its thriving coffee scene. And as a true Pacific Northwesterner would advise, the best pour over is made with intention and care: single-origin roasted, handground, and dialed to the right temperature. Similarly, Seattle is at its best when it's sipped slowly, enough to allow the senses to comprehend the diversity of aromas, sights, and tastes.
GETTING AWAY IS HUMAN
Perhaps the reason we feel so overwhelmed is that the constant connectedness and 24/7 stimulation is simply unnatural to how humans are wired. In her 2021 New York Times bestseller Dopamine Nation, Dr. Anna Lembke of Stanford University explains: “We’ve transformed the world from a place of scarcity to a place of overwhelming abundance: drugs, food, news gambling, shopping, gaming, texting, sexting, Facebooking, Instagramming, YouTubing, tweeting… the increased numbers, variety and potency of highly rewarding stimuli today is staggering. The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation. If you haven’t met your drug of choice yet, it’s coming soon to a website near you.” Moreover, a case could be made that the environment and culture we are living in is actually making us incapable of being alone with our thoughts. So much is happening around us everyday that goes unprocessed. We automatically accept the (sometimes) toxic narratives of the city and social media as truth, without thinking twice. Dr. Lembke later explains, “our brains are not evolved for this world of plenty… we now need more reward to feel pleasure, and less injury to feel pain… the dendrites, the branches off the neuron, become longer and more numerous in response to high-dopamine rewards. This process is called experience-dependent plasticity.” Eventually, the prospect of simply sitting in silence becomes even more daunting. But we humans need moments of contemplation. And if you haven’t noticed by now, the natural habitat to do so was woven into the fabric of existence. In 2020, Yale reported on a massive study of 20,000 people, remarking: “A team led by Mathew White of the European Centre for Environment & Human Health at the University of Exeter, found that people who spent two hours a week in green spaces — local parks or other natural environments, either all at once or spaced over several visits — were substantially more likely to report good health and psychological well-being than those who don’t. Two hours was a hard boundary: The study, published last June, showed there were no benefits for people who didn’t meet that threshold.” The American Psychological Association adds: “Experiments have found that being exposed to natural environments improves working memory, cognitive flexibility and attentional control, while exposure to urban environments is linked to attention deficits.” In the end, perhaps the most telling statement from Yale was that, “the studies “point in one direction: Nature is not only nice to have, but it’s a have-to-have for physical health and cognitive function.”
DIVINE ENCOUNTERS
Before the rise of both the industrial revolution and the digital age, being immersed in this type of environment was more of a given for our ancestors. In fact, the original followers of Jesus proposed the magnificent beauty of nature was one of the indicators of God’s existence. Paul, writer of Romans, proposes: “For [God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” Observing the foundations of the natural world and contemplating the creative genius behind it provokes a natural wonder within us. It’s in these types of environments that our smallness suddenly gets put into perspective. We no longer need to bear the weight of the world on our shoulders. Which goes to say, there is something to be discovered when we are immersed in nature, both about ourselves and the reality of the world we live in. Perhaps no one in human history understood this better than Jesus. The gospels report that “Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.” Upon further investigation, we discover a pattern of him retreating into the mountains to prepare for major tasks, major decisions, to recharge, to work through grief and to process distress. He modeled what would later be known as silence and solitude. Now it’s important to make a distinction between isolation and solitude, because they are quite literally opposites. One psychologist explained it this way: “Solitude is usually actively sought after and is a personal choice that comes from an inner yearning. Isolation is usually actively avoided and is forced from the outside. Solitude allows for expansion and freedom of thought, providing the chance to soar above the ordinary in order to come back to the world refreshed and reinvigorated. Isolation contracts the walls and makes a prison, draining the will and leaving you exhausted.” As we learn from Jesus, solitude is an intentional getaway, designed for a greater purpose. Retreating into nature isn’t simply about being around some trees or becoming more zen, as great as those things are. For Jesus, it represented a meeting place with God. A place to be refreshed before the transcendent Creator, who he referred to affectionately as Abba. And during this refreshment, as we process our feelings and thoughts, we acquire the power we need to go back out into the world and love other people well. To create the change we long to see. To become the truest and best version of ourselves. This is what solitude produces, highlighting just one of the reasons why the way of Jesus is so compelling and how it changed the course of human history.
OFF THE BEATEN PATH
The casual Seattleite might associate a "getaway" with one of Washington's premier attractions, such as Mount Rainier or Olympic National Park. Or perhaps they think of a thrilling weekend trip carving the slopes at Stevens Pass Ski Resort or exploring the winter wonderland of Leavenworth. While those spots definitely merit a visit or extended stay, those retreats don’t help address the need for daily solitude and what scientists have now discovered is the bare minimum of two hours per week in green spaces. Given this, our team went on a search for contemplative green spaces in (just outside of) the city. Locations that are lightly trafficked and off-the-beaten path, providing an oasis from the hustle and bustle. We were pleasantly surprised by what we found, to say the least. In places like the Seattle Japanese Garden or Washington Park Arboretum, you become so immersed in nature you forget you're in a bustling, urban city. Accordingly, we’ve labeled these places getaways. Most of these spots are located within Seattle, or are at most a 30-40 minute drive away. If you don't have a car, you can Uber or use a daily car rental like Car2Go or Zipcar.
PRACTICING SILENCE & SOLITUDE
So before we get to the good stuff and show you each space, let’s talk through expectations. If you’re anything like us, your starting point to silence and solitude is probably with a mind polluted by distraction. Which goes to say, as you start engaging these contemplative places, don’t be surprised if peace doesn’t come immediately. This takes time. And that shouldn’t be the near-term goal anyway, rather the focus should be on developing rhythms. Make it a daily habit to go off-the-beaten path. Identify what works best for your schedule, whether that be mornings, lunchtime or after work, in addition to the weekends. And be intentional about your time there. If you’ve been a park-goer in the past, you know first hand how easy it is to enter a place like Discovery Park or Golden Gardens without any sort of contemplative intentionality. You walk in and launch your drone to get that perfect aerial 4K shot for your reel. You hop in on one of the myriad pickup volleyball games happening and let two hours easily pass by. You stumble upon a yoga meetup, lured by the calming tone of the singing bowl and deep exhales. While all those things can be fun in their own regard, that’s not the intention here. The purpose is to get away, to make it a habit of being present with our own thoughts and to let natural wonder emerge. Like Jesus, consider it to be a safe space to process before a God who loves you. A creator who not only stitched together the foundations of the natural world, but who also is affectionately referred to as Abba. It’s in these places of refreshment and encounter, as we mentioned before, that we acquire the strength we need to go back out into the world and love other people well. To create the change we long to see. To become the truest and best version of ourselves. Here are some practical tips to get started:
1) Pick a time & place
As you browse through our list of getaways, consider where you will regularly frequent and when you will do that. Is it before work in the morning? Is it midday if your schedule is flexible? Which getaway is most accessible to you?
2) Start small
Success is not defined by anything other than simply showing up. You’ve already hit the goal if you make the effort to get away regularly. Additionally, habits are built by starting small. Rather than saying we’re going to get away for 90 minutes every morning, try retreating for 30 minutes at least 2-3 times a week. If you get in a rhythm doing that, maybe increase that to an hour for 2-3 times a week. And so forth.
3) Put your phone on silent
This probably goes without saying, but try putting your phone on silent and resisting the urge to pull it out. Try to be present in the moment.
4) Consider your wiring
While many of the getaways we are about to recommend are stationery spots, if you like to be active, consider engaging your body by going on a walk in the mornings through these parts of nature.
5) Bring a blanket
Conversely, many of the places we feature below are great spots to sit, relax and/or lay down. Consider buying a blanket and using it to rest as you enter a place of contemplation.
6) Bring a journal
In an active effort to fight against stuffing away your thoughts, start actively processing them through this form of feeling prayer. Become aware of how you are feeling and why you are feeling that way. Name the emotions coming up - envy, greed, sadness, grief, etc. Like Jesus, our emotions are a place to meet with God.
7) Contemplate scripture
The ancient practice of Lectio Divina, involves picking a small passage to meditate on. Even if you haven’t read scripture in ages, this could simply mean a Psalm or something that Jesus said in the gospels. For example, if a scripture comes up about humility or loving your neighbor, pray for a greater understanding of how to model that in your life. See what comes to your mind. You can pick up a copy of the new Passion Translation here.
8) Practice gratitude
Gratitude is hard for us. Sometimes it feels like we suffer from chronic short-term memory loss, only able to see what we don't have or how our circumstances are less than ideal. And while there might be truth in that, this perspective causes us to miss the precious things of life that are sitting right in front of us each and every day. Take some time to write down prayers of gratitude, even for the smallest of things.
9) Be silent
Some days, you might want to just be silent. Here, engage your breathing via the form of breathing prayer. As you breathe, listen to the sounds around you. The birds. The breeze. The water, if you’re in front of the lake.
Depending on where you live in relation to the parks, what time you start work and your family dynamic, it may not be possible to develop these rhythms everyday in nature. There are also the added variables of the four seasons and the travel times to get to places requiring a longer drive or more effort (such as taking a ferry). Convenience is king in our culture. Which goes to say, you don’t need to be in these spaces to enter a place of contemplation and meet with God. They are simply beautiful conduits that provide distraction-free zones that provide an ideal space to get away from the crowds, as Jesus did. So maybe this means you retreat to these places a couple of times a week, reaching the two hours needed (or beyond) in green spaces in a more condensed time period. And for the other days, you start developing these rhythms in a quiet space in your apartment. This might look different for each of us, but it’s essential that all of us create space to get away. It’s nourishment for the soul. And with that, we introduce you to our beautiful getaways around Seattle.
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