Smells and Bells

I have a pin on my backpack that's a picture of a tree with arms around it, and beneath it is the word 'hugger.' Tree hugger. I've always been a tree hugger, there's hardly anything I love more than going into the woods (preferably barefoot and preferably when it's warm out) and just walking among the trees, feeling the bark, watching how the sun shines through the leaves and hearing the wind through the branches. I'm just now realizing how woods walks really make use of all your senses. Tu BiSh'vat, the Jewish Festival of the Trees just took place, and recently, my mom sent me this article basically about the science of tree hugging. What is says, is that a recent scientific study has proven that tree hugging, and just being in the vicinity of trees, is good for you. Everything vibrates right? On an atomic level, everything is vibrating at its own frequency, and the "vibrational properties," as the authors describe it, that trees give off...

We all have times when we don't feel like ourselves. I think a lot of seniors are feeling this way right now- anxious, confused, stressed, emotional- the list goes on. Yesterday I woke up feeling strange, almost disconnected from my surroundings. In this weird transitory time, I wasn't surprised, but I was unsure of how to shake this feeling and come back into my body. At lunch, my roommate and I grabbed one of the desserts from the dining hall because it looked appealing. However, upon smelling it and savoring its taste, we came to the conclusion that (like many foods here) it did not taste at all like what it was meant to be. That's when it hit me- focusing on the sensory experience of trying a bite of the dessert brought me back into my body. My mind came down from the cloud that it was on and I felt more in tune with myself. I knew what to do from there. Some people use religion as their primary means of reconnecting with themselves, while at the same time experiencin...