Where do I begin?

Did anybody watch Dianne Sawyer's TV special on the Lakota Indians of the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota?
I was moved to tears. Their plight and fight for survival was very emotional for me. They mostly live in extreme poverty, adults and young people alike suffer from alcoholism and obesity. They are a tragic example of what our government has done to "exterminate" them over the past 175 years.

I have driven through the reservation several times in my travels. Included was a stop at Wounded Knee. It was an incredibly moving experience, even though there's nothing there to commemorate the tragedy that occurred there.
Pine Ridge is pathetic looking--run down trailer homes, junk everywhere, wandering Indians. But horses! They love their horses--and who can blame them!

For some reason I stopped donating to an Indian cause located there (St. Joseph school) last year. (Actually, the reason was because the "dream catcher" they sent me was made in China!) But I think I'll re-subscribe. Private school or not, the Lakota children need help.

Semi-related to this was an article in a recent Wilderness Society magazine entitled, "Does Nature Affect Your Behavior?" I thought of Thoreau and Emerson (which I've been reading), John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, Rachel Carson, and many others. Nature affected them in major ways! "Movements" have been initiated by these lovers of the outdoors.

But in a more intimate way, I believe our attitudes (as well as behaviors) are affected on a daily basis. When I taught in California (7 yrs), my classroom had no windows! (I'm not sure why not--to prevent vandalism?) Here I was teaching earth science, and we couldn't look outside. I remember feeling sad, if not depressed. I'm sure it affected my enthusiasm. We had windows in Indiana.

According to the aforementioned article, benefits of being exposed to the natural world (whether being out in it, or simply looking out a window with a "green" view), include less stress, more self-control, and more cooperation. Not only do we feel and act better, physiologically, we ARE better! ( lower blood pressure and heart rates, drop in blood glucose levels, immune functioning, etc.)

The evidence is pretty convincing that personally, as well as societally, we are much improved when we come in contact with mother nature. Prison inmates, for example, act better when exposed to outdoor "gardening" activities. A walk in the woods (or down a city sidewalk) is beneficial to ones overall health and attitude. So get outdoors, my friends!

I'm not done rambling yet, but I'll save the rest for later.