INTO THE WILDERNESS
I
experienced this firsthand when I couldn’t take the
reports of death and despair any longer and escaped
to my yard in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge
Mountains to observe over 400 broad-winged hawks
amassing above my house. While I watched these
graceful birds in flight, groups of monarch
butterflies, riding the winds, joined the birds in
their journey south, reminding me that the seasonal
cycles of the natural world go on, undeterred by the
havoc around them.
Experiences like this aren’t just found in faraway
wilderness areas or our national parks, they are
right outside, in gardens, urban parks or that patch
of green next to the schoolyard.
Being
reminded of the things in life that transcend
human atrocities lifted my spirit, mended my
heart, brought comfort to that which seemed
inconsolable, and delivered the hope I needed to
face the challenges ahead. The world is often
harsh as the events of Sept. 11 and thereafter
have proven. Spending time surrounded by nature
can help soften the blow by delivering an inner
peace, if only for a little while. John Muir aptly
described the benefits derived from spending time
with nature as a way to renew mental energy.
THE
GEOGRAPHY OF HOPE
For
proof of nature’s healing power one need only read
accounts of how Americans instinctively flocked to
urban gardens, mountain overlooks, forested trails
and ocean shores in the wake of the terrorist
attacks, seeking refuge from an anguish that was
all consuming. In those places they found the
solace and spiritual renewal that only nature can
bring. The novelist Wallace Stegner wrote that as
human beings we need wild places available to us
as a way of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as
creatures. Calling this sense of connection to the
natural world part of the “geography of hope,”
Stegner evoked the eternal rhythms of which we are
all a part.
Exposure to the natural world has been shown to be
therapeutic by alleviating stress and promoting
health. The medical community has long known about
the healing power of nature, which is why healing
gardens are cropping up in medical centers across
the country. Healthcare providers understand that
flowers, trees and running water can create an
oasis for those facing the trauma of a
debilitating disease or the loss of a loved one.
As
Americans look for spiritual renewal, emotional
healing, or time to reflect on how our country
will rebound from this national tragedy, many are
turning to Mother Nature. Wildlife and wild places
— whether they are found in the mesas of the West,
the grasslands of the Midwest, the Alleghenies or
Adirondacks of the East, or the park down the
street — are part of our strength as a nation, an
indomitable part of our American heritage that is
impervious to those who attempt to destroy our
resolve.
NATURE’S
HEALING HAND
Every time we set out seeds for birds we trust to
return, watch in awe as salmon return to their
birthplace to spawn, plant a garden, or gaze at
the stunning beauty of monarch butterflies as they
migrate as much as 2,000 miles every fall, we
affirm our confidence in the future — for these
are acts of faith, the same faith that empowers
our country to rise anew in the wake of
tragedy.
President Abraham Lincoln understood the power of
that faith in the natural world, even in the midst
of the Civil War, when in 1864 he granted the
Mariposa Sequoia Grove and Yosemite Valley to the
state of California for permanent protection; they
are now all part of Yosemite National Park.
