The doctor was a friend. When he learned I had been diagnosed with cancer, he leaned towards me and said, "Stay close to nature." Connecting to the cycles and seasons of nature; smelling the rich earth held in the hand; tasting time that does not go too fast or too slow but is eternally measured in the spaces of now; this is where the convergence of the physical and spiritual worlds meet most directly and I find myself standing in the middle with an awareness that any separation was only a misunderstanding on my part. To remember life, sometimes you need to find your way back to its most natural forms.
According to research done through the School of Nursing, gardening, bird watching or taking a stroll in the park can be restorative and renewing for people facing cancer.
"Fighting cancer requires a large amount of mental energy leading to fatigue," says Bernadine Cimprich, assistant professor of nursing. Spending time in a natural environment might be a simple way to restore energy at a time when seriously ill people need it most. Research continues into the benefits of nature for cancer patients.
