"Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home, that wildness is a necessity, and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life."
----John Muir
When I worked at Asian Community Mental Health Services, some of us supervisors began to see the tell tale signs of burn-out. We saw it in our own flagging health & snippy tempers, and at times in the overall low morale of staff. Community based work is hard work on a tight budget which often fails to yield tangible results until years pass.
We started a tradition of "Mental Health Days". Days we took off for self-care-before the stress made us physically ill or emotionally exhausted. Prevention is always better than intervention after all. My memories and photos of our all too rare picnics in the park or walks in Redwood Park (Oakland Hills) are precious. Those outings reminded me to breathe, to turn off the barking deadlines that crowd my mind, to enjoy the smallest leaf or moment of sunlight.
I recently took my mother and her siblings to Yosemite for a mental health weekend of sorts. They had gathered together from across the continents to be together on the occasion of my beloved late Grandmother's birthday. Everyone was looking kinda sad and bedraggled. So late one night I got online and found us a last minute room in the mountains.
As we drove further and further from the suburbs, a lightness entered all their faces. After a challenging windy road, we settled in at Tenaya Lodge, where my uncle swam in the outdoor pool - "first time swimming in more than 15 years" he said, yet it all came back to him. We all slowed down our sorrows and worries in the shade of giant Sequoias, perhaps the oldest living things in existence. We ate simple brown bag meals while sitting on rocks, watching sunset, basking in sunlight, cracking up over the wild eyed ravens, chipmunks and striking blue stellar jays that tried to snatch food. There is nothing like the real circle of life to put one's own life stages into perspective.
If back in John Muir's day people were already over civilized and nerve shaken - I can't imagine what he'd make of us now! A drive to Yosemite may be too much time away from our burdens, but a stroll, some birdwatching in the local park, or some deep breaths out on your balcony or yard are doable. A picnic can be had in any grassy or rocky knoll. Take the time to un plug yourself from the power sockets and place yourself back into the natural healing habitats and functions we were all designed for.