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Natural Awakenings Dallas -Fort Worth Metroplex Edition

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A Dose of Nature

As we embark upon summer in earnest, there's giddiness in the air. Despite North Texas seeing alternating weeks of temperatures in the high 90s and the low 60s, we're all eager to get outdoors unfettered and enjoy nature—that indispensable resource we take for granted. Whether it's taking us into the backyard, the next city, across the country or across the world, our wanderlust has been documented as uncontrollable at this point. A renewed appreciation for nature and natural things has been an inexplicable, but joyous and healthy byproduct of the COVID pandemic.

While many new things born of trauma tend to fall away quickly after the traumatic event has subsided, I'm almost certain this won't be the case with our new affinity for nature. That's because our unbreakable relationship is preprogramed. We just tend to overlook it, work around it and have the same lack of appreciation for it that we have for other essential, but plentiful elements in our life like air, water and food. But as with these other essential elements, we would cease to exist without nature—and we'd experience that demise in a miserable, drawn-out manner.

Because we're prewired to benefit from and depend on nature, however, our acknowledgment of that need kicks in pretty quickly. I recently saw the following description, which I think aptly describes that dynamic: Nature is but a name for an effect whose cause is God. Our instruction manual, the Bible, clearly tells us that God created this environment, this thing we call nature, in five days. On day one, He created light to separate it from the darkness (producing the day/night cycle); on day two, He formed Earth's atmosphere, creating the oceans and other surface waters and distributing water into the air and atmosphere. On day three, He created dry land and vegetation, including seed-bearing plants and fruit trees. On day four, He created the sun and moon, establishing orbits to mark the passage of time (months, seasons and years); he also created the stars and other planets. On day five, He created water creatures and birds. Then on day six, He created land animals, including man. It should be noted that all these first creations were vegetarian. Our creator provided everything we need to survive and thrive—it's called nature—and I love how we instinctively return to it for sustenance and comfort.

In our Green Living department, "Unplugged Adventures: Eco-Tripping for a Digital Detox," we celebrate all the things we can do outdoors and the many ways a dose of nature boosts our mental, emotional and physical health. Then we take the focus local, profiling some North Texas eco-trips where you can get away for some nature-based adventures. Finally, we explore ways to eco-volunteer this summer to help the planet and ourselves!

This month we also continue our series on Green, Healthy and Sustainable North Texas Cities, with a look at the historic city of McKinney (official tagline: Unique by Nature). With its amazing Heard Nature Science Museum and Wildlife Sanctuary, as well as its abundance of working farms, McKinney is arguably the most nature-centric city in North Texas.

In celebration of Father's Day, we shine a spotlight on men's health, focusing on changing social mores for men and how they are redefining their own emotional power. We're excited to present this information because half the online readers of Natural Awakenings Dallas are men under 35. This is yet another indication that guys are into wellness and well-being just as much as women are. What a cool thing to celebrate in June!

This month's issue is chock full of actionable ideas and information. As always, you'll find much to help you on your journey to living a healthier life on a healthy planet.

Blessings until next month.