“THIS IS THE STRANGEST TOILET STALL I’VE EVER BEEN IN,” I said aloud to no one in particular in Newark Airport’s redesigned Terminal A. Completely absent was any graffiti or shiny stall partitions. No, the entire toilet enclosure was a forest scene. Full-scale murals comprised of bright green grass and rough-barked trees created a lush, safe-feeling place to “do my business.”
Newark Airport’s 2.7 billion dollar investment seems well spent for traveler comfort. Soaring ceilings let in plentiful natural light, small gardens provide areas to rest, and a playground gives kids room to run. Rather than trying to overstimulate visitors with things to do! and stuff to buy!, the terminal now seems to have a pleasant, soothing effect, blurring the boundaries of what we normally consider city and nature—which is amazing for an airport.
EXPLORING BIOMIMICRY
Blending nature with interior architecture utilizes a design process called biomimicry, or nature-inspired innovation. “Biomimicry is about valuing nature for what we can learn, not what we can extract, harvest, or domesticate. In the process, we learn about ourselves, our purpose, and our connection to each other and our home on earth,” explains the Biomimicry Institute.
Upon returning home from the airport, I wondered if I could do some mimicry of my own. My husband and I tend to get quite cranky when the world beyond our windows seems to turn from green to gray in a matter of days. Could more attention to the interior spaces in which we spend our winter days help? Did my house need a redesign, too?
This story is from the Sep/Oct 2023 edition of Spirituality & Health.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Sep/Oct 2023 edition of Spirituality & Health.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ONE WORD TO BEAT WINTER BLUES: BIOMIMICRY
CREATURELY REFLECTIONS
THINKING ABOUT RESTITUTION
THE HEART OF HAPPINESS
WAITING IN LINE
OUR WALK IN THE WORLD
ENTER THE SAUNA
Journalist Emily O’Kelly shares some uplifting research on the benefits of sweat bathing, a global healing practice not just limited to Northern climes.
the trail of ATONEMENT
One Ashkenazi Jewish family escaped pogroms in Russia and then flourished in South Dakota, but the “free land” of their new homestead had been unfairly taken from the Lakota by the United States. Generations later, a celebrated investigative journalist set out to tell the truth of the Lakota and her family, calculate The Cost of Free Land—and pay it back.
STALKING YOUR Mind
Stalking the Mind is part of an ancient Indigenous American Medicine Way to tame your guilt, fears, and shame. What we’re “stalking” are our thought patterns and beliefs that seem to create the opposite of happiness and wellbeing. It’s a powerful psychotherapeutic journey of healing without the diagnosis or labels.
LEAVING MESA VERDE
After 21 years of service at Mesa Verde National Park, RANGER DAVID FRANKS recently guided his last tour of the pueblos and cliff dwellings. He says he was fortunate to assist the archeologists with a variety of work and never lost his amazement with their ability to figure out how and when things happened. The question he still wrestles with is much deeper: Why they left?
BECOMING YOUR OWN LEAD RESEARCHER IN HEALTHCARE
PEGGY LA CERRA, PHD, downloaded a health app to aggregate her medical records and was stunned to see the phrase \"aortic atherosclerosis.\" What she did next is a helpful model for all of us.
ARCHETYPAL ASTROLOGY
\"Is astrology true?\" is the wrong question, writes RABBI RAMI SHAPIRO. He suggests that the truth is out there, but out there is really in here.
WELLNESS IN THE WILD
Spa aficionado MARY BEMIS takes the [cold] plunge at Mohonk Mountain House.