Tom Cervone, Ph.D., and Michael Cervone, B.S.
Our Planet Earth
This website encourages all children of God to act with “Care for Our Common Home,” and is a resource at Laudato Si' and ArchIndy Care for Creation.
Introduction
Pope Francis in Laudato Si’ (2015) emphasized caring for human beings and Mother Earth, as they are inseparable from ecological care. He called for an "integral ecology" that connects environmental protection with social justice, human rights, and the dignity of all individuals, stating that "everything is connected.” Our physical, mental, and spiritual well-being is so much a part of this care.
Stress and anxiety are issues today because we are going here and there, keeping ourselves busy with, in many cases, unnecessary tasks. Yes, we do have essentials that we need to do, but we could do away with things that cause stress and anxiety. For example, we stress and feel anxiety about getting to work on time, which we could reduce by leaving earlier. We also stress and have anxiety about what we hear on the news. Maybe we should turn down our media-driven world and spend more time in ecotherapy?
Ecotherapy or nature (green) therapy, is one therapeutic approach that emphasizes the healing power of nature. With increasing urbanization, people spend less time in green spaces, leading to higher levels of stress, anxiety, and other health challenges. Eco-therapy reintroduces individuals to the natural environment through nature, outdoor therapy, wilderness programs, and engaging with us in biophilia or our innate human connection to nature.
Nature activities can help you breathe in fresh, clean air and put your worries aside. In nature, you can unwind and find peace and quiet, which are much needed for all of us. And these activities can be shared with loved ones as you take in the beautiful sights, sounds, and smells of nature. Nature walks give you time to contemplate your place in this world and what you can do to make it better. If nature isn’t possible, consider other activities that help your body, mind, and soul, e.g., listening to music, sports, family outings, or even praying. A Pew Study on February 26, 2025 showed that more than four-in-ten Americans (44%) report that they pray at least once a day, and an additional 23% say they pray weekly or a few times a month.
What Can You Do?
Think about going into nature, where you can see water, plants, and animals, and really feel calm. The big thing is to get away from the comfort of your indoor home, air conditioning, phone, and other distractions that make for a noisy environment. Nature may be close enough to your home to walk or bicycle, or not, maybe you can drive. Whichever is possible, take the opportunity to experience God’s beautiful gift to us.
It’s so important that we take time to relax and return ourselves to quiet places where we can think more about how we are so blessed to have friends, family, and this Garden of Eden we call home. If we don’t want to venture far, many of us have properties we can fix up for plants and animals. We can have vegetable and flower gardens, and we can plant trees and have benches under large shade trees. Turn your property into a park-like setting. The experience we are looking for is something that will help you become healthier. We want you to be happy, healthy, and healed in a world that may be lending itself to more nerve-racking thoughts. There is so much you can do, but do get out and exercise and enjoy nature. When you do, you’ll feel so much better!
YouTube's on Managing Stress, Anxiety through Eco-therapy:
Quote:
“Into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul…." - John Muir, naturalist
Tom Cervone, Deacon and PhD, is the founder, and Michael Cervone, B.S., is the programmer and designer of the “Our Planet Earth” website. We also thank Sister Maureen Houlihan, Daughters of Charity, Nicole Cervone-Gish, Ed., M.S., and others for their earlier help in developing this website.
Comments may be directed to ourplanetearth.eco@gmail.com Thank you!