Did you know that there are bacteria in the soil, namely mycobacterium, that causes serotonin to be produced in the body? Translation: Dirt makes you happy! Check it out.
That explains why I took to gardening when I was recovering from Mononucleosis a few summers back. Digging my hands in the dirt felt so good. This fact reinforces my unoriginal theory that the recipe for a happy, minimally stressed life includes a heaping spoon of the outdoors. I am still working out the other parts of the recipe. I'll get back to you guys in 60 years.
Many have said it, and I believe it more every day, that connecting with nature is a part of our evolutionary biology and shouldn't be taken lightly.
It's no wonder that after a career in the office many city dwellers decide they want a quite country life to "get away from it all." Gardeners and children have it figured out. Playing in the dirt is great! Just make sure you wash your hands before dinner.
Why washing your hands? ;-) hehe
ReplyDeleteHave you seen Dirt! The Movie?
Like Vandana Shiva said: "...the soil is the mother. She is the mother who gives, to whom you must give back. And to treat soil as the sacred mother is the best thing you could put in your relationship with the Earth."
Let's garden A LOT in Davis :-D