Nature-Deficit-Disorder – by Gary S. Smolker

Live A Little

I’ve concluded that life is for living.

I have concluded that the best type of life for me is one in which I stop being afraid of wasting my time by going out or by going to new places or by meeting new people and instead that I should travel to new places, meet new people, have new experiences and learn new things while doing so.

Medicine Is A Way of Life.

In my opinion life is beautiful and how I live my life is either good medicine for me or poisonous.

The key to being “healthy” for me is knowing how to live.

I’ve found I can –

• Be Happy, Healthy and Full of Wonderment.
• Relieve stress, regenerate my spirit, laugh and be joyful.
• Go out in “nature” and see directly in front of my eyes that all living things (plants, animals, fish and fowl] that live naturally in harmony with their nature flourish.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park

I recently went on a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee with my three adult daughters.

One of the great things I discovered while being high up the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is that there is no cell phone reception there.

Consequently it was a place where I could relax and (re)connect with nature.

While I was in the Smoky Mountains I was able to decompress, relieve stress and regenerate my spirit as a result of  being in nature with no distractions – as a result of being in a place where there was no cell phone service.

I personally experienced the value of (a) breathing fresh air, (b) seeing clear clean running water in streams creeks and rivers, (c) seeing picturesque waterfalls, (d) hiking in pristine woods and (e) solitude.

As a result of “being “n nature” without the distractions imposed on me by cell phones, Internet connection, talking texting or emailing I was able to see clearly the way things work “in nature” and as a result of that after I returned from my “retreat” in nature with my daughters I have been able think clearly without distraction about several things of concern to me.

Additionally, my trip to the Smokies was an amazing bonding experience with my daughters, nature and myself.

During the entire time I was in the Smoky Mountains I was happy, healthy, full of wonderment and stress-free.

The kinds of experiences I had on my trip to the Smoky Mountains have provided memories which I will enjoy for years to come and a reference point and base line to use when thinking about things in my daily life that are important to me.

The experiences I had and the observations I made on that trip have increased ability to think many fold about how I spend my time and other resources and about medical, financial, family and emotional issues of great concern to me.

The Area In and Around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The whole area in and around the Smoky Mountains is quite stunning – light traffic on the freeways, lush green all around the hills and in the mountains.

“Nature” is preserved in a pristine state in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

People Who Know How to Live

The people I met in the areas in and around the Smoky Mountains during my vacation/retreat in the Smoky Mountains with my three daughters know how to live.

They live rustic sensible refined remarkable and somewhat “funky” lives.

Every one I met was good -natured, calm, friendly, hospitable and grounded, and seemed to be alert and happy.

The people I saw and met in cafes, restaurants, and grocery stores during my sojourn in and around the Smoky Mountains were striking different from the people I typically see in similar places in and around Los Angeles.

The people I met in the South (in and around the Smoky Mountains) were all very calm, relaxed and laid back.

I didn’t meet or see anyone during my sojourn in and around the Smoky Mountains who was up tight, anxious, or stressed out.

Below is a photograph I took of a man a man I met in the “Lil Black Bear Cafe” in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

I’ve never seen anyone wearing a T-shirt in Los Angeles like the T-shirt the man in the photograph above is wearing.

By the way, the chocolate Bear Claw served in the “Lil Black Bear Cafe” in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee is something to write home about.  I ate one.  See photos below of the Bear Claw I ate in the “Lil Black Bear Cafe.”

I survived eating the Bear Claw pictured above.

I purchased a T-shirt to celebrate my accomplishment.

See photograph of the T-shirt I bought.

The people I met, and the culture and way of life I observed, in and around the Smoky Mountains was tremendously different from the culture I experience every day in Los Angeles.

I think people in the South (at least the people I met and interacted with) are more “natural” and more in tune with their core human nature that people in and around Los Angels that I see when I go out to eat or to a grocery store or to any other public place in Los Angeles.

Below is a photograph of a man I met in a grocery store in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and a close up photograph of the T-shirt that man was wearing when I saw and met him.

I’ve never seen anyone in Los Angeles wearing a T-shirt like that.

 

Popularity of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most popular park in the National Park System.

Ten million people per year visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Everyone Needs A Perfect Place to Think

Everyone needs a perfect place to think without distraction, a retreat.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is such a place.

All four of us (Leah, Judi, Terra and me) found the Smoky Mountains to be a perfect place to think.

My Search for A Clear Mind

The search for a clear mind is one of my fundamental goals.

The search for a “clear mind” is the fundamental goal of “all” creative and highly productive people.

During my trip to the Smoky Mountains, the solitude I experienced and my interaction with (a) my daughters, (b) nature and (c) the people I met gave me a clear mind.

My Trip to the Smoky Mountains

I left my in Encino, California on May 14, 2016 and visited the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee for ten days, from May 14 to May 24, 2016, with my three daughters Leah, Judi and Terra.

As a result of taking my trip to the Smoky Mountains, I feel totally connected to life – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

It is clear to me that the state of my energy, my health and of my over-all-well-being are dependent on being connected to nature.

The Best Way to Live

Life is about choice.

I advocate relieving stress, being healthy and living a creative down to earth purposeful gratifying meaningful healthy life.

I’ve found that the best way for me to live is by being connected simultaneously with my natural core and nature.

I’ve discovered it is okay for me to enjoy a glass of wine, to have a beer, to have a shot of whiskey; it is not crazy or a waste of my time to go for hikes in woods, to do yoga, to read a book, to think and reflect in solitude, or to go to car shows, or to take photographs with my iPhone of whatever strikes my fancy, and that it is beneficial for me yo travel to new places to meet new people and to see new things.

In my opinion going to new places, meeting new people, connecting to nature, and having new experiences should be part of everyone’s life goals.

As a result of my recent vacation in the Smoky Mountains I have concluded that –

1. I will achieve clearer thinking and better health by connecting myself to nature.
2. My live is energized by experiencing a sense of oneness in the energy flow I make when I am in the moment.
3. My life is about making choices.
4. The best “medicine” for me is living the way of right relationship – I found that living a healthy  LIFE is about doing that.

Failure and Making Mistakes Are A Natural Feature of Life and of Making Progress and of Making Something New

Creativity is a resource we continually draw upon to make something from nothing, to make the non-existent come into being.

Part of being healthy is to not be afraid of trying something new, or trying to do something new.

Inevitably active alive and creative people experience failure and make mistakes.

Healthy people realize mistakes are not a necessary evil.

Mistakes are an inevitable consequence of doing something new, and as such, they such be seen as being valuable; without them, we’d have no originality.

Mistakes and failures are learning experiences.

Think of failure like learning to ride a bike; it isn’t conceivable that anyone could learn to ride a bike without making mistakes – without toppling over a few times.

Personality Plus

The first place I landed on my way to the Smoky Mountains was in Asheville, North Carolina.

Asheville is known as “Beer City, USA” because it has so many microbreweries.

We went to Asheville first because my daughter Leah is a beer connoisseur.

I saw “good humor” and “personality plus”, and experienced “positive energy” and “social commentary” everywhere I went during my three day stay in Asheville, North Carolina.

The people I met in Asheville had good nature, and were happy, hospitable, calm, and grounded.

It was pleasant to interact with each person I interacted with in Asheville.

Each of them exhibited a good sense of humor.

Below is a picture of a sign I saw posted in the window of the “12 Bones Smokehouse” in Asheville, North Carolina.

That sign made me laugh when I saw it.

By the way, the “12 Bones Smokehouse” is President Obama’s favorite rib joint.

While in Asheville I saw another which made me laugh.

See picture of that sign below.

It is a sign on the wall of a place where you can self-wash your dog.

The Most Famous Place in Asheville, North Carolina: Biltmore House & Gardens

I love chocolate.

During my trip to the Smoky Mountains, I visited the most famous place in Asheville, North Carolina: the Biltmore House.

The Biltmore House was built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt.

It is a 250 room house.

It is situated on a 8,000 acre estate.

It has gardens and trails, a conservatory, a bass pond, a boathouse, lawns and woods.

In “the house” itself, there are restaurants, a courtyard market, a bake shop, a ice cream parlor, and specialized stores for shoppers and highly specialized shopping experiences.

For shopping there is a store called “Christmas Past”, a store called “Bookbinder’s”, a store called “Carriage House”, a store called “Confectionery”, a store called “Toymaker’s”, and a store called “A Gardener’s Place.”

My favorite part of the house is the candy store (the confectionery).

I am a fan of tasty chocolate and good advertising.

My First Most Favorite Experience at Biltmore House

My favorite experience, while I was touring the Biltmore House, was seeing what was printed on boxes of chocolate for sale in the “Confectionery.”

See photos below.

I also love cupcakes.

I was thrilled when I saw the package below in the confectionery, advertising cupcakes, yum.

My Second Most Favorite Experience at the Biltmore House

My second best experience at Biltmore House was looking at the exotic flowers growing in the Conservatory at the Biltmore House.

Below are photographs of exotic flowers I saw growing in the Conservatory at the Biltmore House.

My Third Most Favorite Experience at the Biltmore House

My third best experience at the Biltmore House was looking at a group of flowers growing in a pond above the gardens.  Those flowers are shown in the photograph below.

Character and Assertive Individuality Have Been Alive and Well in the Great Smoky Mountains in Eastern Tennessee for Many Years

For various reasons the Great Smoky Mountains have always been a very special place.

The people who lived in the Smoky Mountains in the recent past were famous for hiding their stills from tax collectors and for selling their homemade distilled spirits when it was against US Federal Law to do so.

Being surrounded by natural beauty and making homemade distilled spirits and having a great down to earth sense of humor has been a way of living in and around the Great Smoky Mountains for generations.

When it was illegal to manufacture or sell liquor, certain people [who lived in and around the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee were called Moonshiners and also called bootleggers] manufactured and sold homemade distilled spirits nicknamed “moonshine”; they manufactured and sold “homemade” wine and whisky (“moonshine”) in violation of federal law.

Doing that earned them a “romanticized” place in the history of the United States.

Today, it is not against federal law to manufacture or sell distilled spirits.

However, in an attempt to take advantage of romantic and nostalgic feelings about “moonshine” and “moonshiners” , major distillers pretend to sell “moonshine” — and promote the sales of their products (wine and whiskey) with sales messages associating their products to individualistic rebel character traits romantically associated with moonshine and bootleggers.

These messages are printed on ancillary merchandise – soft good items – such as T-shirts, pillows, and dish towels sold in “Moon Shine” stores and boutiques in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge Tennessee.

For examples, at their stores in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge the “Old Smoky Tennessee Moonshine” company provides free moonshine tastings, live music, distillery tours and sells “moonshine” (jars of whiskey) as well as T-shirts, Sweat Shirts, and sundry other items.

Master Enjoyment of A Glass of Wine Because You Have Worked Hard and Traveled Far

Wine is a symbol.

The wine industry in Tennessee has made a successful effort to have me associate drinking wine with Individuality, Character, Relaxing, Relieving Stress and Being A Fun and Wise Person.

In their boutique wine and whiskey tasting stores near the Smoky Mountains their customer (me) can’t help but associate Being Fun with Drinking Wine, Wine Drinking.

Below are pictures of miscellaneous soft good items imprinted with messages celebrating and encouraging the consumption of wine.

I recently took the pictures below in a so called wine tasting store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Notice that each of the items shown in the photographs below cleverly delivers the message that a person who drinks wine is a fun person.

Each message has a “fun”, “be fun”, “have fun” emotional arc I relate to.

I had “fun” reading each message.

I smiled when I read each message.

I took each of the above photographs on May 23, 2016 at the “Bootleggers Home Made Wine” store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Gatlinburg is a small town located at the foot of the Smoky Mountains in Eastern Tennessee.

The Majesty of Nature

Seeing nature in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a spiritual as well as a physical and mental experience.

I can’t imagine any person with sight not being able to visually spiritually and mentally experience the majesty of nature on display in the Smoky Mountains and our deep rooted connection with nature.

Below is a series of photographs I took of the Smoky Mountains behind a layer of clouds I observed from my Majestic View cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, at 6:30 a.m.

Note: the clouds in front of the Smoky Mountains look like smoke coming up from and rising up from the Smoky Mountains.

 

 

Next are photographs I took of the same view from the cabin with the Majestic View four hours later at 10:40 a.m. – after the morning mist and clouds in front of the Smoky Mountains began dissipating, then dissipated and then disappeared.

Below are photos taken later in the day.

Below are photographs I took at sunset while standing on the deck outside the kitchen at my cabin.

More Than 40 Note Worthy Waterfalls

There are over 2,000 miles of sparkling rivers, prongs and branches and over 40 noteworthy falls in the Smoky Mountains.

During our time together in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, my three daughters Leah (age 28), Judi (age 31) and Terra (age 45) and I hiked together to several of those noteworthy waterfalls.

Below is a series of photographs I took at one of those waterfalls.

The first photograph is of one of those waterfalls.

 

The second photograph is of my one of my daughters standing next to that waterfall.

 

 

The third, fourth and fifth photographs below are photographs of my daughter standing behind that waterfall.

 

 

 

Below is a photographs I took of my two youngest daughters standing in front of another waterfall.

Below is a photograph of my youngest daughter with me in front of that waterfall.

Below is a photograph of me standing in front of that waterfall.

Below is a close up photograph of of the top of that waterfall.

Below is a photograph of another water fall in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park we hiked to.

Sparkling Rivers Prongs and Branches

Professionally taken photographs:

My photographs:

Hiking To Abrams Falls

Below is a picture of my youngest daughter Leah (age 28) Leah took of herself while Leah and I were hiking together through the woods in the Smoky Mountains to Abrams Falls.

It took us five hours of hiking through woods in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to get to the Abrams Falls.

At Abrams Falls water water with the volume of a river plunges 25 feet into a large pool.

The force of the fall throws spray over 50 feet into rhododendron and hemlock on the bank opposite the trail we hiked on to get to the falls.

The deep pool under the falls has a very strong undercurrent.

A sign near the falls warns people not to swim in the pool under the falls – swimmers have drowned.  See sign below.

People are also warned to be aware of bears near the falls.  See sign below.

Below is a photograph I took of myself in front of Abrams Falls.

 

Below is a series of photographs of Abrams Falls.

Messages Printed on T-Shirts Present Moonshine as The Nectar of Pure Unadulterated Living

In Gatinburg, several breweries give free tastings in addition to selling “moonshine (whiskey)”; they also sell  T-shirts on which are printed provocative messages.

The photographs below were taken by me in the “Old Smoky Tennessee Moonshine’s” store on the Parkway, in Gatinburg, Tennessee on Monday night, May 23, 2016, after Leah and I finished our hike to Abrams Falls.

Knoxville Vibe

All of us (Leah, Judi, Terra and Me) got back to our homes by flying out of Knoxville Airport.

Leah and I spent the morning looking around the Art District and the Old City District of Knoxville.

Both are very cool places.

Below are photographs I took which express the “come on in” attitude I experienced in and around the Art District in Knoxville, Tennessee.

I Saw Art and Beauty Everywhere During My Trip to the Smoky Mountains

At the Curious Dog in Old City Knoxville, Tennessee

See photograph below I took of a  booth in the “Curious Dog” in the Old Town section of Knoxville, Tennessee on May 24, 2016.

Photos below are close ups of sections of the mural in the photograph above.

Photograph of a guy sitting in that booth.

Photograph I took the sign on the exterior street side of the entry door to the “Curious Dog.”

Paintings on the Two Walls in A Dead End Alley in the Old Town Section of Knoxville, Tennessee

While walking around the Old Town section of Knoxville on May 24, 20167, with my daughter Leah, we found ourselves walking down a blind alley, an alley the “dead-ended”, an alley which had no exit.

Below are photographs of paintings I saw painted on the two walls in that alley.

Chair In A Shop in the Chicago O’Hare Airport Terminal

Below is a photograph I took of a chair I saw in a shop in O’Hare Airport, Chicago, Terminal 1, Gate B-6, on May 24, 2016 as I was on my way to catch a connecting flight to Los Angeles International Airport, LAX.

I had started my journey home to Los Angeles from the Smoky Mountains on a flight departing from Knoxville Airport.

My trip home involved taking a plane from Knoxville Airport to O’Hare Airport in Chicago and then catching another plane at O’Hare Airport that flew me back to Los Angeles.

It took over 10 hours to get back home from the time I left the Knoxville Airport to the time my plane landed in Los Angeles at LAX, the airport in Los Angeles.

Art and Beauty Everywhere

On Saturday, June 4, 2016 I went to return a computer to the Apple Store at the Grove — a upscale shopping cent in Los Angeles.

While I was at the Grove I discovered there was an event, an auto show, at the Grove.

By the way, the Grove is located near the intersection of Third Street and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, California.

Of note to me, as a father of three adult women and a lover of women, I saw more women then men looking at the cars on display on the street at the auto show.

So much for the cliche that boys like cars and girls like dolls.

Below are pictures I took of three of the multitude of  “classic cars” I saw on the street, on display, as part of the car show at the Grove.

Really interesting: on the top two cars pictured above, the rear view mirror is strapped to the spare tire.

 

 

Save Yourself from Nature-Deficit-Disorder, Get Out: Visit The Great Smoky Mountains; Travel to, Visit and Explore New Places

The Smoky Mountains are one of the most bio-diverse places on earth.

According to the National Park Service over 18,000 different types of animals and plants live in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus) are one of 19 species of fireflies at Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  They are the only species in the Americas whose individuals can synchronize their flashing light patterns.

No one is sure why the fireflies flash synchronously.

The fireflies do not always flash in unison.

They glow in the dark.

They may flash in waves across hillsides, and at other times will flash randomly.

Synchrony occurs in short bursts that end with abrupt periods of darkness.

The Smoky Mountains is also the home of the “American Black Bear.”

More than 1,500 black bears live protected “in the wild” in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

More statistics:

• More than 1,500 different specifies of wild flowers are found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, more than in any other North American National Park.
• More than 100 different species of trees grow there.
• More than 240 different species of birds have been spotted there.

The Southern Appalachians are one of the temperate zone’s hot spots for plants.  North of the tropics, only China has more species.

The climate of the park encompasses a range of conditions from warm to cold temperature, and rainfall is abundant everywhere.

Elevations in the park range from 850 feet to 6,643 feet.  As one moves from lower to high elevations the climate becomes cooler and wetter and cloud cover is more frequent.

Rainfall ranges from about 55 inches at low elevations to 90 inches on high peaks.

Differences in elevation and the ruggedness of the mountains – topographical features affect soil moisture – result in a vast variety of environments that produce a wide variety of vegetation.

Slope aspect, slope position and slope shape all combine to determine the amount of sunlight reaching a site, its warmth, and its ability to retain soil moisture.

Even if you stay in a narrow elevation range, the habitat changes dramatically.  And because habitat changes, the species of wildflowers and plants you see growing also varies.

As a result of its biodiversity and its closeness to population centers, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most popular park in the National Park System; 10 million people visit the park each year.

The National Park Services maintains 380 miles of scenic roadways, 800 plus miles of trails and bridges, 9 front country campgrounds, and more than 100 back country campgrounds in the Smoky Mountains National Park.

ASIDE:

• The National Cancer Institute and other groups have repeatedly visited the Smokies to take, under permit, small plant samples, looking for new medicines.
• Fully, 25 percent of our prescription drugs contain at least one ingredient taken directly from a higher plant.
• The Cherokee had documented uses for 60 percent of the flora in the Smokies.
• Over 600 species from these mountains were or are still used as medicines by the Cherokee.
• Generations of trial and error of uses of plants in these mountains represent a refined knowledge of plant biochemistry and the potential for use.
• A recent study showed that study of traditional cultural use of plants in an area is a faster route to discovering new medicines than blind screening of all plants in an area.

The prime directive of all national parks is to preserve not only native species, but also the natural processes that maintain them.

This year (2016) the American National Park Service turned 100 years old.

THE ART OF LIVING

I see art everywhere and beauty everywhere.

I can’t wait to tell you about “the Swag” in Waynesville North Carolina; “Lil Black Bear Cafe” in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee; and, “Curious Dog” and a blind alley in Old Town Knoxville, Tennessee, which I will do in a future blog post article on the “Gary S. Smolker Idea Exchange Blog.”

The Swag

Below is a photograph of what I found on my bed when I went to my room at the Swag.

There was also a backpack on my bed.  See photo below.

There was a note explaining the materials inside the backpack.  See photo below.

On one of the night stands besides the bed was a book of poetry.  See photo below.

I adopted “Mr. Rocky”, the Black Bear I found on my bed in my room at “the Swag.”

I can’t wait to tell you more about “the Swag.”

Conclusion

We determine the trajectory of our lives.

We should learn how to see.

We should live with our eyes wide open.

We should travel to places we have never been to before and meet people we have never met before.

Having/enjoying good health is a way of life.

 

 

Copyright © 2016 by Gary S. Smolker, All Rights Reserved