Nature Deficit Disorder
“The whole year begins:
Look! There is snow on the ground!
Look! There are our tracks!
We walk a little further …..
Look! The snow is gone!
We walk a little further ….
Look! The Maple Tree grows leaves!
The Plants are planted.
The Water runs from the top of the hills.
It becomes medicine.”
Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman
13 Strings of Wampum. 13 Moons
I always like this song that Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman taught me long, long ago. The Haudenosaunee had ceremonies for each of the thirteen months they recognized, based upon the moon's phases. They were, like tribal people around the globe and throughout most of human history, in closer contact with nature than most Americans are today.
Below I have included a link to a good article on “green psychology.” Although it was not my primary field of study in the classroom, the classes I did take have always stuck with me. A section of my library contains a number of books on it as part of my “independent study” over the decades.
Just as the evolution of the frontal lobes in our species was the “fall from grace” described in a book you've likely heard of, our separation from the Natural World is the second fall. It has led to what the below article describes as “Nature Deficit Disorder.” And while that is not in the DSM-5, it can and does play a role in a large number of the book's disorders intensifying, just as surely as “processed” foods contribute to the poor health of citizens today.
For somewhere in the neighborhood of the past six weeks, due to frigid weather and an unpleasant infection that resided in my lungs and sinuses, I was stuck indoors. Now, I am a hermit, and rarely venture into what is often mistakenly called “civilization,” other than to stop at a grocery store. I also stop to fill up the gas tank on my vehicle every couple of months. Likely picked the up infection in one of those two spots. But being inside for an extended period did not help my over-all mood.
I can't say that I was aware of my becoming increasingly grumpy at the time. I did enjoy watching the birds and deer on my lawn, through the window. But it wasn't until I wrote a bit during the state of the union, and read the responses, that I recognized that I needed to get outside more. For I want to be one of the pebbles that Senator Robert F. Kennedy spoke of in his June 6, 1966 “Ripple of Hope” speech in South Africa:
“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice. He sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest wall of oppression and resistance.”
It is not a cure-all. But it is essential that we take care of ourselves, in a time when Dr. Bandy Lee has noted that our country is experiencing a mental health crisis. And being “mentally healthy” involves far more than not suffering from a major mental illness. It demands that we take the time to take care of ourselves. I hope that you read the article found at the below link.
Peace,
H2O Man
https://neurolaunch.com/green-psychology/
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With the country’s current mental turmoil — especially here in red, red southwest Florida — the saving grace is my rural acreage home I bought 24 years ago. Surrounded by a bazillion trees, I can power walk my daily goal of 5 - 6 miles while watching my pups romp and play, all without leaving my backyard. When the news starts closing in, I head outside, talk to the trees, breathe in lungs full of fresh air, walk to my favorite roller skating organ music, and the world is right again.
At least for a while.
Again, thanks for your excellent communications.
