The Benefits of Nature

(via Andrew Sullivan) Jonah Lehrer notes:

I've written before about the powerful mental benefits of communing with nature - it leads to more self-control, increased working memory, lower levels of stress and better moods - but a new study by psychologists at the University of Rochester find that being exposed to wildlife also makes us more compassionate. Nature might be red in tooth and claw, but even a glimpse of greenery can make us behave in kinder, gentler ways.

1. I wonder if working in the garden counts?

2. No wonder India's ancient rishis always had forest ashrams, though life in the forest could not have been easy.