Why a Tree Is the Friend We Need Right Now

02021-06-27 | Uncategorized | 1 comment

I suppose one has to celebrate the little steps, for example when Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal has an article about the value of trees that haven’t been cut down.

Why a Tree Is the Friend We Need Right Now – WSJ

Trees have a lot to teach us. They know a thing or two about surviving harsh years and thriving during good ones—they can show us the importance of taking the long view. They’re masters at resiliency, enduring fallow periods every winter and blooming anew each spring. They’re generous—they share nutrients with other trees and plants and provide clean air and shade for the rest of us. They certainly know how to age well.

And trees provoke awe—that emotional response to something vast that expands and challenges the way we see the world. It’s the perfect antidote to the way we’re feeling right now—a pathway to healing. Research shows that awe decreases stress, anxiety and inflammation. It can quiet our mental chatter by deactivating our brain’s default mode network—the area that is active when we’re not doing anything and that can get absorbed by worry and rumination, according to Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and faculty director of the university’s Greater Good Science Center, who studies awe. It can improve our relationships, making us feel more supported by and more likely to help others, more compassionate and less greedy.

1 Comment

  1. JaneParhamKatz

    Yes! I would add that similar good is to be gained from associating with flowers and all plants.

    Only a few days ago, I visited a local nursery and brought home five small Purple Barron grass plants and a small tuberous Begonia. The grass plants are now nicely planted along the beautiful back stone wall and will grow to four feet tall. They each have a thing like a small, dark purple cat tail, which somehow fills me with joy whenever I look at them.

    The Begonia has rich green leaves and one sweet little creamy bloom. Yesterday I put it outside, and it seemed so happy to be in the long rain shower we had today. Just a moment ago, I found two new little buds! My heart rate increased a bit as I felt a wave of love run through it.

    I have never connected like this with any plant. I looked at them as if they were furniture. Boy, what I was missing! I have begun to look forward to each morning when I can go out and see the little changes in these lovely creatures!

    Reply

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