The sun is shining today here in Chicago as I write this the second week of April, but the first real taste of spring is still at least a day away. The longest winter in my lifetime — that I can recall, anyway — is forecast to finally meet its demise tomorrow (April 11); which isn’t actually tomorrow anymore, because if you are reading this online it is probably the third week of April, and if you’re just now cracking open the hard copy of your Spring 2018 issue of Community Health it is quite possibly May.

Jason Maholy, Editor Community Health Magazine

The point of my rambling is this: It has been far too cold for far too long, here in the Midwest and in the Rochester area you call home. The Chicago Cubs home opener was snowed out, and I can count on one hand the number of days temps have climbed into the 50s; and while they’re in the 20s at this very moment (weeks ago now, remember) they’ll be in the 60s tomorrow adn the 70s the day after.

I have been eagerly anticipating spring, as I do every year, so I can take advantage of the very limited free time I have and get outside, take a walk or take the kids camping. Trudging the icy, grimy streets of the city every day as I walk into work has become tiring for my soul, which longs for and is naturally drawn to nature.

That concept — that we humans are innately attracted to the outdoors — is the focus of this quarter’s national feature story in Community Health. While we as the most adaptable and industrious creatures on the planet have constructed megalopoli featuring intricate infrastructure networks and buildings that tower into the clouds, cities are not our homes or where we belong, as much as some people might like to think that to be the case. We come from nature. For millenia our ancestors lived in the wilderness — forests, grasslands, mountains, even deserts and tundra — and the biological and psychological need to be amongst nature is rooted in our DNA. We lived among nature for far more of our history than we resided in the urban settings we’ve created.

Nature soothes our souls, calms our minds, and relieves us of stress. It is free of many of the distractions that can throw us off our game and steal our peace. Do yourself and those you love a huge favor, and get out an enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer.