I love trees. They literally have the power to heal us.
Today I wasn’t feeling so great. So I took my laptop outside and worked at a table next to a tree. I leaned against it, felt its rough bark, noticed the shape of its leaves. I sat out there for hours, taking in the smells and sounds while also being productive with work.
I grew up in a family of intellectuals who would laugh at such tree-hugging claims. And having worked as a journalist for many years, I felt the need to do some research.
A Harvard study a couple years ago showed that trees’ effects on us “translate into long-term changes in the incidence of depression, anxiety, cognitive decline, and chronic diseases…”
I have an unwavering love of trees and an inability to be indoors for long. Being out in nature beckons me, always.
So living now in the Holy Land, this panacea is even more powerful. And we chose a small town in the north that was literally carved out of a forest. It’s a nature-lover’s dream, and I’m so grateful to be here.
It required lot of effort and prayer to make Aliyah. And I don’t take living here for granted. I’m still in awe that I’m really in Israel, living in this beautiful place nestled in the trees and flowers.
I learned that trees emit essential oils called phytoncides to protect themselves from invaders like insects and bacteria. The odor of these natural tree oils, even if we don’t notice it, is good for us.
I discovered the terms “forest bathing,” and “forest medicine,” used by immunologists.
Studied by researchers around the world, forest bathing has positive impacts on the immune system, blood pressure, and even addiction.
The healing and mental health benefits of spending time in nature seems pretty obvious. It’s a ‘knowing’ I’m starting to honor for myself, as I enjoy more and more time outside. Although it’s getting hotter here, the temperature is lower around trees.
There’s so much beauty created for us, just waiting to be noticed.
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And God caused to sprout from the ground every tree pleasant to see and good to eat, and the Tree of Life in the midst of the garden, and the Tree of Knowledge… (Bereshit, Genesis, 2:9)
Mindy Morasha 