By David Dobbs, Guest Contributor Trussville Tree Commission
“And into the forest, I go to lose my mind and find my soul” – John Muir.
I read this quote in high school, and it has always stuck with me. Into the forest, I would walk, losing track of time, forgetting to eat, and many times forgetting where I was. The trees have a way of soothing the soul and calming the anxiety of everyday life.
I remember when I was young and walked with my mother into the woods at my grandmother’s farm. I noticed how it smelled and how it made me feel. I came to know later that the smell was all the oxygen being produced by the trees and that it has a truly calming effect on the body. Trees doing their job.
I found out later in life that the Japanese practice Shirin-yoku or “forest bathing” to alleviate stress, aggression, and depression. I realized they were on to something because everyone I know that spends time in forests does that for the same reasons. Interestingly, their culture has a name for going into the forest. The trees and their ability to calm everyone down.
When I taught Environmental Science, I would take my classes into the woods behind the high school and have them just sit and not talk. Many of them told me about how it made them feel calm, and on some days when things were stressful, they would ask to go to the woods to just sit, listening to the water, the wind, and the birds. Many did not realize how many birds were in the trees until they sat and listened. The trees were at work again to help another generation. My family and I have traveled all over the country and have always gone to natural
areas versus big cities. When our girls were little, we always took them hiking, and they picked up a love of trees and how being around them made them feel so calm. They still retreat to the forests when they get a chance. The trees relaxing us all.
We have so many parks here in Trussville and nearby in Birmingham to be able to walk into and enjoy. This allows us to get away from the asphalt and concrete that we are a part of every day. Not only does it allow us to get away from the heat of these sterile surfaces, it allows us to retreat into a sanctuary within the cities and, at the same time, not being aware of the cities we are in. The trees making us feel better.
The forests are where we can go to reset our internal systems — where our parasympathetic division of our central nervous system gets bolstered by the trees, and it allows our body to respond with a lowering of blood pressure, pulse rates, and breathing rates without modern medicine. The trees are working their magic on our body.
We need to appreciate the parks, forests, and natural areas we have around our town while also fighting to keep them. Our souls need the trees, and we need a sanctuary from the daily grind. Let the trees soothe us.
“Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world” — John Muir.