Back to Nature

I good friend of mine sent me a clipping of a Washington Post article by Tara Bahrampour. It was all about the benefits of getting back to nature. People show benefits from even small slices of nature. The article was worth reading.

It definitely made me grateful for living out in the country. To be honest, since my leg injury, home projects have gotten away from me. My daughter came to visit the other day and ended up cutting my lawn. At the time I was laying down with my leg elevated again. In short, the house isn't going to make the cover of “Home Beautiful” magazine.

However, the day before, while having my coffee in the kitchen, I could watch an eagle circle over the lake. Since the weather's been pretty decent lately we've been sitting outside watching the wildlife. I'm sure just the sound of wind blowing through the trees drops my blood pressure twenty points.

Cities are a pretty recent development. We did not evolve in totally artificial environments. Something in our inner beings responds to the natural world. In Tara's article she noted that many people who added nature to their lives were able to give up their medications for mild depression. Frankly, I know I'd been pretty depressed if I had to live in a big city without a single tree in sight. It would probably make me more than a little crazy.

There are days when I just step outside and breath, taking it all in. So what if the grass gets too long, and the house needs work. It's in the country where I need to be.

-Sixbears