Natural Control
Dr. Pfister hiking with the family lab
Recently, I’ve started noticing just how complex the world keeps becoming…
This came to light when a grandfather brought his granddaughter in for her appointment and, as we were conversing throughout her appointment, he kept remarking about events that happened 30-40 years ago and the actual date they occurred! Now I have no proof that his dates were exact, but the speed at which he came up with them was amazing.
I know major dates like Kennedy’s assassination, but the death of Elvis or Frank Sinatra, I haven’t a clue. The more I thought of that conversation, the more I realized those events that he was remembering were probably “The” only thing that happened that year!
We have major events happening weekly now with a Cloud of Covid kicking up news whenever things start to get dull.
The complexity of the world seems to hit me hardest every Monday, after a weekend of hiking and camping in the great outdoors!
You can’t believe how simple and relaxed Nature appears as you walk through and enjoy her splendor with all of your senses being stimulated.
However, we are all aware that, underlying Nature’s relaxed veneer, is the complexity of many biological processes working harmoniously to perpetuate life as we know it.
Among the animal life in Nature is a constant struggle for survival, as the predator-prey cycle works its way along in the form of eat-or-be-eaten. But this is not visibly recognized, as we watch a doe feeding with her fawn or a flock of geese flying over in formation. Nature keeps her struggles and complexities to herself and expresses herself only in a beautiful mosaic tapestry of colors and simplicity that should make us humans green with envy.
We humans just love to broadcast our lives, problems, and crises on various social media avenues for all to critique and comment on.
Why can’t we be more like the source of our existence? Does everything we do need to be texted or Facebooked?
Privacy has to have its virtues, doesn’t it? Mankind is a tribal and communal beast that loves socialization and communication. But with the advent of the pandemic and total change in political and work environments, the amount of negativity in print and airways is mind-boggling.
This has produced significant stress in our lives, as each of us tries to separate truth from fiction or - better stated - opinion from fact.
The evening news on television that I grew up with and depended on for the truth, in many cases today, has been sold out to the highest bidder or twists facts to favor one side of the aisle or the other.
Simply put, a caller to the talk radio station I listen to said it best, “Believe 25% of what you hear, 50% of what you see, and 100% of what you do!”
If one could live by that rule, our lives would definitely be less stressful and greatly simplified.
Which brings me back to Nature — how does a very complex synergy of biological systems that we call Nature present itself as being so simplified?
My take on this - Nature equips each of its fauna and flora to do what each does best on a daily basis; and the future takes care of itself.
Let’s clarify this by looking at a simple leaf.
Initially, a leaf looks unassuming and composed until you begin to dissect each of its various functions that it accomplishes daily throughout the year; and then you realize how truly complex a leaf actually is.
A leaf ushers in Spring each year as it appears on a branch. Through photosynthesis, it will then absorb the sun’s energy, thus feeding the tree and creating amazingly clean oxygen from our atmosphere’s Co2… until it welcomes winter, departs the branch, and gently floats to the ground.
On the ground, the simple leaf decomposes and is transformed to a rich biological medium that provides nutrients for the tree to produce another population of leaves in the Spring. Leaves work together — they don’t get upset and decide to move to another tree and they don’t randomly decide to fall off the tree and quit photosynthesis because of a week of sunny days!
Leaves, in their simplest state, are the foundation and backbone of our forests.
Likewise, most of us adults are the foundation and backbones to immediate families as parents or to our community and country as citizens.
We could definitely simplify and de-stress our world if we focused more on our personal world and do our best every day to help those around us — where we can truly make a difference — rather than wasting energy worrying about situations over which we have no control.
A year ago, Covid really had control of us. Today, we have a much better handle of the situation… surely not out of the woods… but we have adopted new lifestyles with masks, distancing, etc.
Now, it’s time to take control of our lives and, thanks to Covid, lead simpler lives, closer to home. Once in control of your life, those around you (family or coworkers) will pick up on your positive vibes. Hopefully, each of them will self-reflect and, like doing the wave at a stadium, it just keeps going.
One of the best means of Covid de-stressing that I have found, along with hiking, is getting back to Holiday traditions.
I know I’m going out on a limb recommending getting involved in large gatherings, but do it safely and start this weekend! This weekend at the IX center is the big two-day Christmas Connection, truly a mega gathering of artists and crafters with many amazingy creative, one-of-a-kind Christmas gifts for purchase.
Holiday Spirit closer-to-home begins Friday night this weekend with the always-festive Medina Candlelight Walk at the Square. Check it out on Google for an updated itinerary.
Taking control of your life and reducing your stress starts with a positive attitude and a demonstrative first step.
I know of no better first step than this weekend — beginning your Holiday Celebration with family and friends.
And, all-the-while, observe Nature’s last dangling leaves which, in all their complexity, remind us that it’s very doable to make the complex feel simple again.
Stay Simple Medina County,
Dr. P