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Why should Thoreau get all the Marrow?
[caption id="attachment_138" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Are you the water, the trees or the sky? Or, are you the reflections upon the water?"][/caption] “I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die discover that I had not lived.” Henry David Thoreau (Walden). To me, living deliberately means to live life with your mind wide open. Understand life, Nature, and where you fit in. Too many times people live on autopilot. They awaken to the sound of an alarm clock because they must be at their workplace at an arbitrarily set standard ...
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Go outside and heal thyself
The New York Times recently ran an article summarizing some scientific studies that seem to indicate exposure to parks and plants can boost immunity. One of the studies indicated that white blood cell counts were elevated by 50% in men who took two 2-hour walks in the woods for two days. Other benefits cited in the studies included decreased blood pressure, lower pulse rate, and decreased levels of cortisol. We all know Nature is good for us. Science is backing up this claim in more and more studies. Take a look at the New York Times article and think about making a permanent change to your lifestyle...Get Outside and take a hike on a trail in a ...
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Do you think of yourself as a visitor in Nature, or a part of it?
In our fast-paced society, we seldom make time for Nature. When we do, it is a quick visit to a park or a short trek along a favorite trail. These brief intervals surrounded by the natural world refresh and relax us. Then, we return to our "real" lives. Deadlines, commitments, paperwork, phone calls. What a strange way to view the world. People are, and always have been an integral part of Nature. The more removed from Nature we are, the more removed we are from our true selves. Too often, environmentalists implicitly underwrite and perpetuate the false assumption that humans are trespassers or interlopers. Granted, we as a species have wrought horrific terrors upon the earth, and ...
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7 Reasons to visit a park during Winter
Don’t be a fair weather outdoorsman. Instead of being a wintertime couch potato, get outside and enjoy these extraordinary benefits: Feel goodGetting outdoors and exploring nature provides an opportunity to exercise. Exercise releases endorphins. Endorphins make you feel better. What better cure for the wintertime blues?Enjoy solitudeWitness the peaceful majesty of the winter landscape. By being one of the brave few that opt for a hike on snow covered trails, you will experience a unique solitude that is rarely possible at other times of the year.Escape to another worldA snow covered landscape can impart an otherworldly feeling that may take you back to childhood or it might instill ...
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More evidence that Nature is good for you and not just an extra.
I found this article on the Beacon Journal's web site and thought I'd share it: Ohio.com - Plants can boost health and spirits in '10: "reduced negative emotions, increased positive feelings, increased sociability and reduced need for health care."The article mainly discusses plants and gardens, but there is also a bit about proximity to green space. Take a look and then think about this. We complain about raising health care premiums while there is a way (exposure to nature) to reduce recovery times by large percentages. We worry about the supposed obesity epidemic when one part of a cure is nearly free (Get outside and hike!). Some of the benefits of green space are felt simply by ...
