As an outdoors person with an indoor career, I make an effort to get outside at some time during the day. While my walks to and from work are vital to my mental and physical health, they are too purposeful to meet my need for a daily dose of nature.
Of course, my mid-day ventures are only so productive when it comes to wildlife; a group of sparrows in the parking lot, a flock of starlings on a college lawn or a couple vultures soaring overhead may be the limit of my encounter. Natural sounds might consist solely of the crunch beneath my feet, whether from fallen leaves or slushy snow, perhaps pierced by the calls of an arrogant jay. And the smells, sometimes mixed with the aroma of cafeteria food, may arise from fresh-cut grass, putrid mulch or a hedgerow of fragrant lilacs.
Not exactly a chance to immerse myself in wilderness, these brief journeys are, nevertheless, food for my soul. Just the warm sunshine, damp air or frigid wind is a welcome change from the stale, temperature-controlled, infection-laden, antiseptic-tainted environment of the hospital.... to say nothing of nature's role in stress reduction.
