nature

Someone very dear to me once told me, “I love nature almost as much as I love you.” Those words were precious to me. I truly understood them as they could have been my own. I know that all-encompassing love for nature all too well. You know how when you are so in love with someone, you feel a constant pull towards them? That is how I feel about nature. When you love nature, you feel that pull to get out there. Being out in nature in any element makes me happy. Breathing in all the delightful smells…trees, flowers, grass, air…it is all so delicious., as well as the natural sights of all that nature has to offer…it all fills my soul.

Whenever I feel down and go out, I try to go out in nature as it soothes my soul. It doesn’t take away my worries; it just connects with me like a dear old friend. It isn’t something you can understand unless you have been touched by its wondrous beauty and have felt its calling. Grass, trees, forests, meadows, lakes, oceans, bays, creeks, rivers, dirt, mud, leaves, flowers, wildlife, air, sun, moon, stars, bugs, sand, the beach, the mountains, etc. I love it all. From my early existence, I have loved it. We had a tall pine tree in front of the house I grew up in. I loved that tree and recall numerous times sitting under it on a bed of its shed needles and with its fragrant bowed branches sheltering me. That beautiful old tree was a precious gift to me, and also to him, though I did not know it then. I was taking in his oxygen (and so much more) while he took in my carbon dioxide. Oh, how I loved that tree.

I would go there to chill. I loved watching in awe as the ants tunneled through the earth. In college, I even wrote an A+ essay on it. I’ll never forget all those scary times watching my beloved tree sway through the storms. They were not scary because they could fall and crush our or our neighbor’s roof, but scary because I feared the thought of losing that beautiful tree. My dad would say, “I have to cut that tree down before it falls on the house,” and I would beg him not to. Thankfully, he never did. Some years after our house was sold, my fear came true: the new owners cut the tree down. I wish I had known it was coming down; I would have liked to have gone to share one last embrace.

While numerous articles say trees do not feel pain when cut down or hurt, some disagree. Even though they do not have a human central nervous system, what system do they have? Trees send messages through mycorrhizal networks. They can send chemical or electrical signals. If a tree is being eaten by insects, it will send out distress signals. When attacked by diseases, they can send out chemicals. Some articles say trees can feel what is happening and feel something comparable to pain. When a tree is cut, it sends electrical signals like human tissue that has been wounded. Research has shown they have many senses. They may have more senses than we even have. When I passed my beloved tree on Waverly Avenue and saw it was no longer there, its spot marked by a heap of shredded bark, I shrieked in disbelief and cried. Then, I exited the car and gathered some of its remains. Call me crazy, but this is what nature does to me. I felt it throughout my soul.

A tree is not just a tree, grass is not just grass. Nature is alive and amazing. Speaking of grass, did you know that grass actually screams when the lawn mower goes over it? Those screams are distress signals. Those distress signals give off the beautiful smell of fresh-cut grass we love.

Lots of things happen under trees. There is something so comforting about trees and being under them, whether for a picnic, shelter, reading a book, resting, taking a nap, or having a romantic rendezvous. Under a tree is the place to be for any of those things. As children we climbed them, swung from their branches, hung swings on them, ran around them, and sat under them.

Do you remember laying on the grass looking up at the sky and finding images in the clouds? I still love looking up in the sky and enjoy laying on a carpet of plush green grass. I even don’t mind laying in the dirt. It all feels wonderful. Speaking of dirt, I remember when I was growing a vegetable garden, I did not use garden gloves. I loved the feeling of the dirt in my hands, of working with the earth. Turning over the earth, planting seeds, watching plants grow, and gathering your harvest are all fulfilling. Whether lying in the hot sun outdoors, under a shaded tree, on the sand, under a canopy of stars on a beautiful summer evening, or even on a cold clear winter’s night on a bed of snow while a profound sense of peace stirs my soul. Ah, there is nothing like nature.

Sunday, December 15th, it was 55 and sunny. My friend Lois and I went to Massapequa Preserve and had a picnic by a stream. It was so peaceful. Our walk through the woods was an adventure as it was very muddy. I don’t mind mud, but I am talking about swampy, puddly mud in some spots that would cover our ankles. We got through it with the help of boards that were down in those spots. There was one terrible spot with an unreachable board, but a kind dad passing by helped us get on a thin log, which led to dry land. We had lots of laughs.

Besides the laughter (which they say is the best medicine), that day reaped many health benefits because that is what being in nature does.
Time spent in nature is full of rewards. It is so good for your mental and physical health. It reduces cortisol levels, muscle tension, and demands on our cardiovascular systems (lowers heart rate and blood pressure). Being out in nature often may lead to lower rates of heart disease. Overall mortality is higher as well for those who roam through nature. And I don’t even need to mention mental health because we all experience it when we are out in nature. Peace, calm, well-being, and reduced mental stress. I believe that God put everything on this planet to heal ourselves and that being out in nature amongst the living plants and trees is one of them.

Being in the middle of the woods is so very peaceful. There are no obnoxious sounds, just sounds like the rustling of leaves, the delightful singing of the birds, the scampering of a squirrel or other forest friend, and maybe the hello of a passing fellow hiker. Except for Sunday’s walk which was filled with the sounds of fire trucks which I suppose, because of the duration, was Santa making his neighborhood rounds. That is okay. Just the thought of children’s joy at the site of Santa riding past their house balanced it all out. You always have to think of the positives.

I am now at an age where peace is very essential. I can get peace through both love and nature. That is how I want to live out my remaining years. I am quickly approaching my golden years and want them to indeed be golden. They call them your golden years because you are near retirement age. But, I think they are golden because you know what you want at that time in your life. You finally come into your own, and you know what you want and don’t want to do, and you don’t want to waste a single minute of precious time.

So, speaking of golden years…try to make them golden. All of them. Make them all golden, even if you are not in your golden years. Make every second golden. Get out, do what makes you happy, and do it with someone you love. Don’t let anyone take your happiness ever, and if they do? Get out in nature and hike in some woods, run through the grass, lay down in it and look at the sky, dance in the sand, breathe in the salty air, walk along the shore, or swim, fish, kayak, or water ski on a lake, or skip stones, go camping, breathe in the fresh forest air, go boating on the bay or a lake, sunbathe, walk in the rain, splash in puddles, smell the flowers listen to the birds, watch all the beautiful wildlife enjoying their great big playground. Just immerse yourself in it and take it all in. What a wonderful world!