News Taffy

My daughter had a paper to write for English on one of my favorite topics: how nature affects our mental and physical well being. I was impressed with the research she found to support her position which is that nature is good for us in ways we never think of consciously. In this age of advanced technology, we think we are so superior in all that we can access and accomplish while never even leaving our home. Yet we suffer from obesity related diseases in numbers that our parents never faced despite our advances in medicine and we have much greater levels of stress and depression.

We need to disconnect from social media and turn our heads from the computer screen to look out the window. We need to rise from our sofas and walk out that door, past the car and venture into the great outdoors, even if it’s just our tiny front yard. I encourage everyone to get outside for just a bit, every day, no matter the weather. Having horses makes me get outside to take care of them in even the worst weather. I have many allergies to grass, trees, pollen and molds yet I feel better outdoors than inside my house. I walk for exercise and ride my horse year round, whether in the heat of August or the freezing winds of February. I do yard work, sweep and mow with a push mower, not a riding mower. I feel better both mentally and physically for it.

Think back to your own childhood. I spent as much time outside playing as I could. We had a TV and radio but no other electronic stimulation. Some studies say that children spend as little as 7 minutes a day playing outside. No wonder children are fat and suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes and other “adult” diseases. We are doing our children a tremendous disservice by not teaching them to step away from their phones and social media, to disconnect once in awhile. When they grow up, they have trouble focusing on work and putting their phones away. Employers already have to deal with employees wasting time at work on their phones and the internet.

Despite all our time saving devices, many people feel stressed by trying to keep up with all the texts, tweets and pictures constantly beeping at us for attention. We are so afraid that we might miss out on something important but most of it is silly garbage.

This week, try an experiment. Spend at least 15 minutes outside everyday. That doesn’t include walking to and from your car. Take your dog or children for a short walk and look for signs of spring - those flowers just beginning to poke up or the tiny leaf buds on trees. Pick up the fallen limbs from the winter’s storms. Perhaps, toss a ball with your kids, if you even remember how. Breathe some fresh air. Then see if you don’t feel recharged, your head clearer and maybe a bit happier.