This week, for my 60th birthday, I went hiking on a very small section of the Appalachian Trail. I am sharing this with you for a few reasons: a) this is where you are supposed to respond, “Oh goodness, you can’t be 60 years old! You don’t look a day over 59!” and to follow up with b) “You are so strong and outdoorsy for a man of your antiquity.” Sorry, I am just being transparent here, but I am told one of the markers of getting older is saying a bit more of what you think.
But I am also sharing this with you because I hope this summer you are taking some time to be outdoors. The Japanese call this “shinrin-yoku,” which means forest bathing. The idea is that immersing oneself in the outdoors is a way to care for body, mind and soul. Studies have shown that just the sight of something living and green, or the smell of resin from trees, can have positive health outcomes.
I will be the first to admit that 120-degree weather, coupled with the same percentage of humidity, hardly elicits feelings of euphoric bliss, but still, I think summertime is as good as any to put down the phone, lift your eyes and take it all in.
For just a moment, put your textbooks to the side — come on, were you even reading them this summer? Push away from the electronic pile of mail. Stop worrying about next semester, or for that matter next week, even if it is for just a moment. Take time this summer to pause long enough to see, to smell and to hear what the earth has to say. Listen to the tumble of the tide rolling in off the Gulf of Mexico and smell the salty mist. Pay attention to the tiny red wildflower winking at you from the trail. Be stunned by the iridescent blue mushroom popping up from the humus of the forest floor. (Although, take my word for it: Don’t eat the blue mushroom).
I admit, I am a lousy preacher because I have difficulty practicing what I preach. I am driven with an overriding need to be productive and therefore be useful. But what if the most important work we do in this lifetime is to simply be and not merely do? In the Jewish tradition, it is called Sabbath, where rabbis teach us to remember, to rest and to rejoice.
Forest bathing, shinrin-yoku, Sabbath keeping. It is summertime, so go and find your place on earth and celebrate that you get to walk on it.
And now it is time for me to conclude this column because at the age of 60, I am all worn out!
