Reading The Geography of Bliss and find it very engaging. Maybe the style draws the reader in right away because it is written by a journalist and has the feel of an investigative report. The author describes a research related to our happiness as a factor of connection to nature:
In 1984, a psychologist named Roger Ulrich studied patients recuperating from gallbladder surgery at a Pennsylvania hospital. Some patients were assigned to a room overlooking a small strand of deciduous trees. Others were assigned to rooms that overlooked a brick wall. Urlich describes the results: “Patients with the natural window view had shorter post-operative hospital stays, had fewer negative comments in nurses’ notes . . . and tended to have lower scores for minor post-surgical complications such as persistent headache or nausea requiring medication. Moreover, the wall-view patients required many more injections of potent painkillers.”
This reminded me of my dentist's office. The seat he has patient's seated faces the woods. So as I am having my teeth cleaned I am looking out a large window that frames the greenery outside in a pretty spectacular way. My appointments are generally late in the afternoon and the sunlight does its magic on the tall strands of ornamental grass. Being able to be part of that serene view of nature goes a long way in my feeling that the visit was not too bad and I was in no pain at all. This is the only dentist ever that has not made me dread appointments. Dr. C is a good dentist but so are many others I have seen over time. The big difference is no one had a seat that looked into the woods and had a window that framed the scenery so perfectly.
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