HOW NATURE HEALED A LITTLE GIRL SICK WITH DIPHTHERIA

During the early 1920’s England a diphtheria epidemic swept England. This was before the availability of penicillin so many children died from the virus. At age 11, a girl named Freda came down with it and was close to death. Recognizing this, her mother took Fred to a nearby physician to see if there was anything at all which could be done. That physician made one recommendation: That the family set up a tent and cot in their yard and place their daughter there 24/7. Curiously, the rather unorthodox “prescription” worked and Fred recovered from diphtheria. Later she would say: “He must have been a genius doctor because, under the beech tree and the by laburnum tree, I was soon on my way to recovery.” The doctor was a “genius” only in that he was aware of and respected the healing power of nature.

The little girl, Freda Bedi, would grow up, move to India and, in 1966, become the first Western woman to become a fully ordained Tibetan Buddhist Nun.  The friend of Gandhi and later the Dalai Lama, she helped the Tibetan leader in exile to establish schools for Tibetan refugees.  Because of her selfless service, many Tibetans regard Fred as a living Buddha.

Nature heals and people would feel better and, likely be better persons, if they spent more time outside.  Science verifies nature's healing powers. Some examples:

• One recent study tested over 1,200 elderly adults. Those who had not engaged in outdoor recreation in the past year were the most prone to major depression. Those who spent time outside four or more times a week suffered the least depression.
• Another study, published in 2003, found that health increased with the amount of greenspace in one’s living environment.
  

Even looking out a window into nature seems to help.  In 1984, a classic study found that hospital patients recovered from surgery quicker if their room offered a view of nature compared to those who looked out on a brick wall.