biophilia

in the geography of bliss, eric weiner talks about the phenomena of biophilia. latin 101 lesson: bio = life, phil = love. so biophilia is love of life, or love of nature. he discusses a study testing hospital patients' response to having trees outside their window vs. having a blank brick wall outside their window--and the "nature patients" had shorter recovery times and needed fewer painkillers and antidepressants. he says: "proximity to nature doesn't just give us a warm, fuzzy feeling. it affects our physiology in real, measurable ways. it's not a giant leap to conclude that proximity to nature makes us happier."

i think my response to biophilia has been made more extreme because of my growing-up years in irvine, a wonderful place to live, unless you're an animal or a tree. actual "nature" doesn't really exist in irvine. this is one of the reasons why north carolina was so appealing to tommy and i--because of the TREES here!

i also think biophilia is one of the reasons why tommy and i are so happy about our apartment. we didn't think we'd like it because it's around the back of our building and actually pretty hard to get to. but it is all okay because we look out of our window and can see this:

i mean, it's not a great picture and all, but there is quite literally a forest right in front of our front door. a much better view than the parking lot we WOULD have had if we had gotten our way.

biophilia is also the reason why fall, with the beautiful colors of the trees and falling leaves, is my favorite season. it's the reason why i always wanted to go running in provo canyon and on the provo river trail, and why we are now so grateful for similar trails (minus the river) that we have here in durham. and it's also the reason why we're going to asheville in a few weeks. asheville is one of the best places in the world to go see fall foliage and we'll be there over our fall break weekend (and my birthday). can't. wait.