The Happiness of Being Dirty

Antidepressant microbes in soil may explain why so many of us enjoy gardening and playing in mud. In this psalm, however, David seeks deliverance from the muck and mire!

We've all been there. The moment we're ready to turn in our resignation, suffocating under the stress of the job, and it's only Monday. The moment we realize everything our mom said was right. The moment our 2-year-old's vocabulary is limited to the word "No!" The moment the SUV is making sputtering noises, and the bank account is running on empty. The moment we have to pretend to be happy for someone.

Moments like this. We've all had them.

Don't worry. There's a workaround.

Time to play in the mud.

Much has been written about the benefits of communing with nature. Think about it. When we get outside or when we take a walk on the beach, stroll through the park, tend to our garden -- whatever -- we feel better. Part of that may be a result of the beneficial effects of exercise, but the power of nature to provide emotional and psychological healing cannot be denied.

Writer Bonnie L. Grant, however, takes this concept further. In a recent article, she not only extols the benefits of the...