Winds and seasons

Recently I’ve appreciated imaging myself, my life, and my loved one’s lives as like a mountain or tree that stands dignified through the many winds and seasons of change. I pass along a couple of offerings that are helping ground me in greater acceptance of what is, whatever is happening:

1) a “Mountain Meditation” from Ron Siegel's "The Mindfulness Solution' web site that takes only 10 minutes to listen to, and that is strangely settling for me. (I’d love to hear how others respond to it.)

2) this June 8 entry in “The Book of Awakening: Having the Life You Want by Being Present to the Life you Have”

"Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind.

To be happy, rest like a great tree in the midst of them all."

- Buddha's Little Instruction Book

It helps to remember this. Of course, it’s hard to remember this when feeling blame, loss, or sorrow. But that’s when we need this wisdom the most.

Like everyone, Id’ rather not experience the undercurrents of life, but the challenge is not to shun them, but to accept that over a lifetime we will have our share of them.

Avoiding the difficult aspects of living only stunts our fullness. When we do this, we are like a tree that never fully opens to the sky.

And dwelling on our difficulties only prevents them from going on their way…

The storm by its nature wants to move on, and the tree’s grace is that it has no hands. Our blessing and curse is to learn and relearn when to reach and hold, and when to put our hands in our pockets.

*Stand beside a fully grown tree. Breathe in its wisdom.

*As you watch the tree stay open to wind, feel praise and blame rush you, and try to stand like the tree.

*Breathe deeply, and feel gain and loss circle you and try to open your heart like a branch.

*Breathe slowly, and feel pleasure and sorrow rustle your leaves: try to stand still, holding on to none of it.

- Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening, June 8 entry

Greentime

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks…

Keep close to Nature's heart... Wash your spirit clean…” ― John Muir

Summer in these northern climes is a time to enjoy spaces outside. Vegetation is plentiful in our half-year of green and temperatures are sometimes even quite pleasant. Being outside does a body good. I’ve talked about it before (blog post Oct 5, 2011) but repetition can be helpful: this June post encourages us to get connected to the natural: enjoy some greentime!

SOME BENEFITS

The Environmental Health Research Foundation (EHRF) reports in the pdf article "Benefits of Green Space – Recent Research April 25, 2011” these advantages:

~ Healthcare/Stress Reduction – Even merely viewing natural green reduces stress in five minutes or less.

*Findings from several studies have converged in indicating that simply viewing certain types of nature and garden scenes (includes green spaces) significantly ameliorates stress within only five minutes or less. Further, a limited amount of research has found that viewing nature for longer periods not only helps to calm patients, but can also foster improvement in clinical outcomes -- such as reducing pain medication intake and shortening hospital stays. [(2002) Ulrich, R.S. Health Benefits of Gardens in Hospitals. International Exhibition Floriade]

~ Increased Physical Activity/Reduction of Obesity - Access to green space is an important predictor of increased physical activity and reduced risk of obesity.

* A study published in Lancet comparing income-levels and health of over 40 million people in England shows that health disparities between high income and low income people are much narrower in areas with ample green space. The authors speculated that the green space may reduce health disparities by enabling residents to become more physically active and reduce stress. [(2008) Mitchell, R., and Popham, F. Effect of exposure to natural environment on health inequalities: an observational population study. Lancet 372:1655-1660]

*A study in Marion County, Indiana, of children and youth aged 3 to 16 who lived closest to neighborhood green spaces, including parks and recreational facilities, were more likely to have normal body weights as measured by age-adjusted body weight index (BWI-z) scores. The authors speculate that this was due to increased physical activity or time spent outdoors. [(2008) Bell, J.F., Wilson, J.S., and Liu, G.C. Neighborhood Greenness and 2-Year Changes in body Mass Index of Children and Youth. Amer. J. Prevent. Med. 35:547-553]

And these findings retrieved from University of Washington [references cited in specific on the page linked: Wolf, K.L. 2010. Active Living - A Literature Review. In: Green Cities: Good Health. College of the Environment, University of Washington] reveal -

* A study in the Netherlands found that residents of neighborhoods with abundant greenspace generally enjoy better health than urban dwellers without access to natural areas. This positive link was found to be most apparent among the elderly, housewives, and people from lower socioeconomic groups.

* In a study of European urban adults, residents of areas with the highest levels of greenery were three times as likely to be physically active and 40% less likely to be overweight or obese, than those living in the least green settings.

* A remarkable 5-year study of senior citizens in Japan found that having readily available space for taking walks and the presence of parks and tree-lined streets near the residence were significant predictors of higher survival rates. Living in areas with walkable greenspaces positively influenced the longevity of urban senior citizens independent of their age, sex, marital status, baseline functional status, and socioeconomic status.

SOME IDEAS

Wherever you are, there’s likely numerous avenues to explore and enjoy green spaces. Google “parks” for your town, city, or state and have fun discovering some new spots or visiting old favorites. More specifically, here’s a couple of suggestions for us Minnesotans:

**On the site explore Minnesota “Get Outside and Play with Your Kids” there are ideas (and links to follow) for places to ride a bike, tour a cave, visit a farm, go geocaching, walk a trail, start paddling, enjoy activities at a resort, participate in state park programs.

**A new Green Play Yard at the Minnesota Arboretum opens June 16. The assertion is that regular “greentime” supports children’s healthy development and well-being: it wakes up the senses and offers new possibilities that entice us to play. I know where I’ll be frolicking on my June day with grandchild Noah: not sure who will have more fun in the Green Play Yard (well, maybe I am: I'm thinking me!)

May you too find green spaces to frolic or find solace this month!

"I've always regarded nature as the clothing of God." ~Alan Hovhaness

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving…He makes grass grow on the hills… Psalm 147:7a,8b