Running for Your Life: Treetop Tips

Wisdom is a flighty mistress.

Never appears when you think she will.

Often wisdom comes upon you at night, alone with your thoughts, and eureka, there she is.

I find treetops to be a common space for wisdom to hover.

On the mornings that I walk T, our hound dog, by myself I’ll look up at treetops and often am surprised with how calm I feel.

More so leafy trees than needle ones, although in Brooklyn’s Park Slope and Prospect Park leafy trees dominate.

There’s as much of a chance of seeing a 50-foot pin as a diehard Republican.

With all the recent talk about the suicides of celebrities Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, a suicide prevention specialist was being interviewed on CNN.

She took pains to say that the urge to kill yourself can be blunted by spending more time in nature. Simple as that.

My advice? For every minute a day you stare at your phone, gaze up into treetops for a second.

Two hours a day of phone-staring = Two minutes a day of treetop-gazing.

Sound reasonable?

Next: Running for Your Life: Bay Ridge Redux

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi, Larry, Re trees, tops and otherwise, I highly recommend Richard Powers' "The Overstory." I hope all is well with you. Best, Jeff Burke

Mike Tully said...

Great post, Larry. I was recently at Mount Rushmore, which is in a wooded mountain area. Almost as much fun as the monument itself was the detour from a walking path for a brief walk in the woods. Serene.

larry o'connor said...

Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate your recommendation and will look up Richard Powers' The Overstory. Sounds like it is right up my alley. All is very well; trust the same is truth of you, my friend, All best, Larry

larry o'connor said...

Coach ... Thanks for your Mount Rushmore comment. That's precisely the spirit I was flailing for in this post.