That is not true of the time I have spent in cities. First, I get lost easily. How can you find your way when the tall buildings hide the sun? Masses of unfamiliar faces whose expressions reflect anger and impatience put fear into my heart. I remember taking my friend, Yvonne, to visit her son-in-law in the hospital in Louisville, Ky. When I left first, after our visit, to get the car from the parking lot and pick up Yvonne, the streets were one-way. There was no way I could exit the parking lot and pass by where she waited. Somehow in all the confusion, I got lost. What a frightening time! Never in the woods would this happen! Sometimes, as a child, I would stay in the woods an unreasonable length of time. My Mother would call out the back door towards the woods, over the acre of field, beckoning for my return. It was, after all, meal time. Eventually she would resort to repeatedly honking the horn of the old ’45 Plymouth coupe. Presently, having access to nature is becoming an issue…an issue of human rights. The Center for Nature and Health in San Francisco “conducts research on the connection between time in nature and health.” A first of its kind in the United States. In the last ten years, studies are showing that people who spend more time outdoors live longer. “Expanding research has also shown that exposure to nature can reduce symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and help prevent or reduce obesity, myopia and vitamin D deficiency.” Being in nature has also been shown to reduce blood pressure and anxiety. Of course, we who live in a small village surrounded by and living with nature and wildlife are blessed. In metropolises where a park may be inaccessible, there is a crying out, especially for the children. A “nascent global movement” for social justice that provides nature access to all people is commencing. “…universal and equitable access to nature is fundamental to our humanity as well as to the future life on Earth.” “All people” means adults as well as children need nature in their lives. It seems to me that if one has not connected with nature as a child, as an adult there may be a lack of empathy for any part of the environment. If all the child has been encouraged to do is listen to ways to enrich himself/herself, to get “ahead” in the world, there will be a lack of understanding about the Earth as a living organism. The child has had no experience with the mystical realm of forest and water and the creatures therein. No appreciation for creation. This lack of regard for our planet is illuminated by those who do not recycle (and most likely find littering easier), and by administrations who destroy policies protecting national forests and pristine waters. At least 200 assaults on the environmental policies set in the past have been mitigated by the present administration in less than four years time—check what has been done to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, Energy Policies, the energy consuming light bulb, previously banned, etc. The quotes in this article are from the magazine, Sierra, (May/June 2019). In the ten pages of the article, “Outdoors for All,” by Richard Low, there are many more facts about what is being accomplished world wide. Such as, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child that went into effect in 1990 and ratified by all member nations except the USA. What is wrong here? Wendell Berry, a farmer-poet, gives us a moral reckoning: “The standard of the exploiter is efficiency; the standard of the nurturer is care. The exploiter’s goal is money, profit; the nurturer’s goal is health—his land’s health, his own, his family’s, his community’s, his country’s…The exploiter typically serves an institution or organization; the nurturer serves land, household, community, place.” Surely, certain people must come to mind when words about an exploiter are read!
It is a relief and a blessing to be acquainted with many nurturers of the natural world. That swath of lawn in the back that I do not mow but leave for the rabbits and deer is a tiny gesture for wildlife. Remember what Hildegard of Bingen told us, “We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.” Though that passionate response to the endangerment of Earth may be ever so small, it counts. [email protected] ©Ann Rains, September 2020 Addendum: As so often happens when one studies a subject, another article about the benefits of nature entered my spectrum. It was an excerpt from the book, The Great Indoors: The Surprising Science of How buildings Shape Our Behavior, Health and Happiness, by Emily Anthes. It has been discovered through research that if a hospital room window looks out on grass and trees, the patient needs less pain killers and recovers faster with an earlier release date, compared to those whose windows look out onto a brick wall. Even a plant in the room helps. Apparently it harkens back to our ancient ancestors whose life evolved in the wild…”we have an innate affinity for the natural world”. The outdoors brings us peace and recovery—needed nature.
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