The Benefits of a Walk in the Wood

A Washington Post article onthe mental health and wellbeing achieved by a nature walk, is rather interesting. Researchers found that a walk in the park, rather than a walk along a crowded highway produced different results in the brains of test subjects! (Washington Post) Seriously, imagine walking down a crowded highway – one’s mind might not be on any beauty around, rather, more on keeping one’s life. Walking in a lovely park, on the other hand, might produce a feeling a peace, and well-being, what with the beauty of the songbird, and or bubbling brook.

Yet a study had to be conducted to determine exactly that. Boggles the mind a bit – Getting away from it all, even for a short break, allows one to really look hard at their surroundings, a lovely garden, a child at play, or if allowed the time, the beauty of a large pine, or oak, the majesty of the sun and sky overhead breaking rays of sun through the crowded fields. It is walking in God’s world and viewing nature as undefiled as possible, that offers a human time to think or not think at all, rather look at explore. It is the ultimate mental health break.

As often as possible, a trip to a local park with ample trails allowing off-leash hounds, is as close to perfection as one can find – an hour or two in the wood offers both peace of mind as well as exercise. The added bonus of not beige tied to a computer or smart phone during this time allows for the brain to rid itself of the jumble of the day or the week ad just breath.

Now, of course, it’s confirmed by science.

What I learned by taking a vacation – the news that left me without the ability to put into words

Until today.

Once in a while there is a need to take a break from the predictable, so, I chose to spend my time worthlessly playing games online, rather than anything else. It is that mindlessness that allows one to defrag so to speak, from the cares of the word. The cares of the world are in one’s face 24/7 if one is at all vested in news – and the news of the day is horrid.

The stuff of nightmares – yet, with all that, there is hope- I found a church – and I felt peace. That has allowed me to once again, get on the stick and pontificate on this that and sundry news that may be most disturbing to some, or not. The one piece that has recently brought me out of the fog of malaise was the shootings in South Carolina. Of course, it rocked the nation – with that in mind, my desire for fellowship increased, and I found myself in Church this past Sunday. The Church is non-denominational, which suits me just fine, and the congregation is diverse, which suits me better. The message was a non-partisan, prayer for the families of those who lost loved ones-mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers.

As the usual rabblerousers that normally have no place in the local stories, rush to make a national news piece, those who are left behind but deal with the sorrow and the understanding that there is a great divide in this nation, one which is never talked about, rather it is always about “race”. The fact that children and adults with mental health issues on certain drugs have committed these atrocities and more has been left to the side, repeatedly. There are multiple links when goggled, for example this article from 2014 on 35 school shooters on a specific type of drug from cchrint.org, or the list of drugs and drug related homicides found here at Ssristories.com. All defy race, religion, or gender, and all are individuals who on prescribed medication committed murder.

What we have in this nation above all other things, is a mental-health-drug problem, with which, would come a lot of soul-searching to fix the problem, given our current politically correct state.

Blame the millennial, blame the racists, blame the Republicans (the go to for the media) and or pick a group – but let us not place blame on the policy that permits this to continue year after year, decade after decade. It is not compassion one might think, that allows this to continue, but possibly hard cash for government and pharmaceutical behemoth involved.