Shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing is a Japanese tradition of spending time in nature, particularly in the forest.
It has been found that spending time among trees can have a calming effect upon the body. There even is the school of thought that forest bathing can be used as a preventative to disease. These interactions help to boost the immune system. ( The technical term has to do with the increase in NK cells or natural killer cells that help fight viruses and cancer.)
What I do know for sure is that when I am spending time surrounded by nature, particularly trees I do feel better; more grounded and at peace.
Perhaps it is the impermanence of nature, the visible changing of the seasons that allows us to let go of perfection. Recently we had a hundred year old oak tree on our property implode on itself. The inner core of the tree had been infested by insects, and had rotted away.
To the unassuming eye everything looked basically just fine, until one day it fell to the ground with a loud thud. It has made me more in tune to the other two oaks that rest upon our property, and remind me not to take their presence for granted.
Kempton reminds us, “Wabi Sabi teaches us that dynamic transience is the natural state of things.”
Because of this we cannot waste time holding on to the past or even present when change is inevitable. Rather we should savor it and hold it in our hand gently like a butterfly ready to take flight.
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