We were looking for a quiet spot to record audition tapes for Beauty and the Beast (the upcoming high school musical this fall), but nowhere on this little farm seems to be silent for very long. There are birds in the trees and birds in the yard, including a couple of silly roosters who don’t know when to be quiet and a couple of cats who think they belong wherever the chickens are. There’s a Catahoula who loves to talk and sing. With cattle lowing, the ensemble seems complete, as if the whole outdoors wants to be heard. As the nighttime approaches, the frogs along the creek speak to each other and soon the crickets join in. If we stay up long enough, we hear the cayotes calling in the distance and whippoorwill songs that ring around Sleepy Hollow at night. The sounds of nature are well known to be associated with increased feelings of health and wellbeing. Recordings of nature sounds are popular in the offices of certain types of medical care providers and are increasing in popularity as white noise for meditative practice and even in newborn nurseries. The sounds of nature are good, but being surrounded by nature is what some medical care providers are prescribing in increasing numbers. “Park Rx America is a non-profit organization whose mission is to decrease the burden of chronic disease, increase health and happiness, and foster environmental stewardship, by virtue of prescribing Nature during the routine delivery of healthcare by a diverse group of health care professionals.” (parkrxamerica.org) Founded by Robert Zarr, MD, MPH, Park RX America is one effort to get Americans away from our tech heavy world and back to our natural, more health inspiring roots. We don’t have to spend the weekend or even the whole day outside, on the farm or in the hills, spending even 20 minutes sitting in a park is sufficient to improve well-being, according to a study by Hon K. Yuen and Gavin R. Jenkins, published in the International Journal of Environmental Health Research (Volume 30, 2020 - Issue 2). I submit that taking a folding chair (or a kitchen chair or even a bath towel), outside in the evening (remember the insect repellent), and sitting quietly on it in the back yard, or even on the sidewalk in front of your apartment, listening to the sounds of night, listening to the stillness of night, and just being silent and still, is good medicine. I enjoy most genres of music; musical stage productions and solo instrumentals alike. However, of all the music I’ve ever heard, never have I heard more beautiful than songs sung by the voices of Earth’s children. Listen. Be well.

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