Kay:
I feel like we should have some kind of special thing because it is Earth Day guys.
Shi:
It’s like air and wind and fire and earth.
Kay:
So, a bit of an interpretive opening here, but you get the point. It is Earth Day!
Shi:
Yeah!
Kay:
April 22nd. This is episode 339. Earth day has such a special place in both Shila and I’s hearts. One because celebration mama Earth, Hey, Gaia.
Shi:
Love you.
Kay:
Super love it too because there is such a fun, free time community Earth Day event that happens every year in our town here, Reno, Nevada. It is quaint, it is educational, and our parents always took us growing up. So, we’ve got very fond memories of the Earth Day Festival.
Shi:
So, on the macro, we love Earth Day for Mama Earth and on the micro, we love it because our mama loves the earth and instilled that into us. So, as Kay mentioned, lots of just beautiful memories down at Rancho San Rafael Park going. Oh, I’m sorry.
Kay & Shi:
Idlewild.
Shi:
Yes, at Idlewild Park doing all of the fun art activities and the music. In fact, when I was four years old, I won an art competition at Earth Day for a drawing of a whale.
Kay:
I did not know that was an award-winning whale drawing.
Shi:
Award-Winning.
Kay:
Incredible. Well, Earth Day memories aside, we have a very good quote for you today from the father of the national parks himself, John Muir. If you have not been to the Muir Woods or seen or read about this man, he is a Scottish American naturalist, an author, an environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist. I mean all of the things that have to do with nature and John Muir has it. So, he says, “Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”
Shi:
“Wash your spirit clean.” There’s only one way to do that and that’s to be immersed in nature.
Kay:
Nature bath!
Shi:
Nature bath, forest bathing, totally a scientific thing that you can go lookup. Being outside. I mean, first, you know you get vitamin D. You know when you’re outside, you typically move your body more. But more than that, just that fresh air, that connection to nature, that connection to the earth that is the habitat for all of us living here. It’s such a beautiful thing that we don’t celebrate. In fact, we hurt the earth quite a bit as a species. So, to take at least one day to feel that, to see that, and to honor that is something special and worthy.
Kay:
Well, Mr. Muir here is saying to spend a week in the woods, but that might be a little unreasonable for you as just a normal Quester. But look, even an hour out in nature can have a real effect on your awesome sauce. That brain juice, your serotonin, your dopamine, your oxytocin. Just one hour around trees and in fresh air really helps your brain, and 72 full hours in nature can actually change your brain mapping and change your neural connections. That kind of forest bathing and that immersion experience is really, really therapeutic for us as human beings. So, any amount of time in nature really influences your chemical levels inside in a positive way that helps you to live a better experience.
Shi:
Yeah, that’s so beautiful and he starts us off with, “Keep close to nature’s heart.” So, not keep nature close to your heart, which is intrinsically the opposite of this quote and something that we should all do. But keeping close to nature’s heart I think helps remind us to care for that planet, that it is this big living organism that provides for all of us. So, to be able to tap into like that heartbeat of nature, to that natural beauty of our earth and the incredible environment and the richness and the variety. At least here in Nevada, you can drive an hour in any direction and get a completely different landscape and experience and wildlife and ecosystem. There’s just so much to explore and to enjoy that and that’s really knowing nature’s heart is seeing it and appreciating it.
Kay:
So, like Mr. John Muir says, “Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in a while, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”
Shi:
Alright. It’s time to wash your spirit clean with an Earth Day Quest today.
Kay:
Hey-yo.
Shi:
In honor of Earth Day, we want you to break clear away from civilization and take a walk on the wild-er-ness side. Whether it’s a walk through the park, up a mountain, or along the river, we challenge you to go outside of your home and out of your neighborhood if you can, to cleanse your spirit in the sanctuary of the natural world. Are you ready?
Kay & Shi:
Let’s quest!
Shi:
Hey, we’ll be outside there along with you guys. Happy Earth Day!
