Nature Nurtures

I have been sitting on the back deck of the Farmhouse at Whitestone. It is an absolutely perfect Spring afternoon.I can see over 4 miles of lake frontage and 4 islands.(Watts Bar Lake embayment of the Tennessee River) The Smokey Mountains are visible in the distance today. There is a nice breeze and it’s 75 degrees.
A big study by the University of Illinois says that looking at trees even through windows produced an uplifting effect both pscychologically and physically. The study also concluded that urban noise depleted the participants both psychologically and psysically.
The study collected evidence from ADD children in an attempt to alleviate their hyper-activity. These children were divided into two groups–half played outside in a park and half watched TV and played video games inside.
The clear conclusion of that part of the study was that children and adults who spent more time outside coped better with life and were better able to focus and were happier than those who stayed inside.
Whitestone is surrounded on the lakeside by 8000 feet of the Paint Rock Wildlife/Waterfowl Refuge. Away from the laleside are hills and trees.
Being outside today added sanity to my life. Nature seems to put smaller issues in perspective. God was at His creative best when He did East Tennessee.I suspect He was looking down on this region when He declared “This is good!”
Paul