One of the salvations for Ritchie and me during this stay-at-home time has been taking walks on the beautiful Cool Spring campus of Shenandoah University. The area was once a golf course, now defunct, but retains the paved pathways formerly used by golf carts. One can walk easily along a mostly level path that runs by the lazy Shenandoah River. Often, especially in the early hours, one can see wildlife galore: deer, rabbits, fox, heron, and turtles. And of course there is flora in abundance: great swaths of Virginia bluebells and canopied Mayapple. It has been a beautiful refuge offering refreshment for the soul.
So imagine my surprise one day as I was driving to the river, confident in the pleasure awaiting me, only to run into a sign, “CLOSED – NO ENTRY.” What?! I immediately returned home and composed a letter to the President of the University, making a case for reopening the campus.
I mentioned all of the points listed above, and emphasized the importance of safe environments for exercise. I wrote on behalf of all the neighbors who benefit from this wonderful space. Within a day or two there came a reply from President Fitzsimmons, Yes, the campus would reopen and safety guidelines would be posted. Hurray!
So while stuck inside we may be, we can summon our instincts for self-preservation to include our mental and spiritual health. For as Gene Lewis, the site manager, states, there are “…benefits to mind and body that nature can provide.”
That is so true. And, I would add, to our spiritual nature as well.
Elizabeth Thomas