Don’t you love those crazy/silly/easy things you can do to be well? The ones where you don’t have to toss out your whole life so you can have a chance at being healthier?

I got one! But you may first have to toss out your sense of skepticism. Your tendency to roll your eyes. Your inability to feel a little silly. Your judgment.

Let me tell you a tale:

Long, long ago, on a not dark and stormy anything, I kept observing my stepdaughter stopping to rest her hand on a tree when we went hiking. I admit that I had the teensiest inclination to want to tease her about it. But I’ve always been fairly open-minded so curiosity won out.

So, I asked her: “Umm, Deb, why in the world do you stop our hike to rest your hands on a tree?” And she told me. “It grounds me. I feel better.” And stuff to that effect.

Years later, I find myself doing the same more and more. And, since growing older seems to bring the reward of no-longer-giving-a-damn-if-I-look-crazy (to some extent), I don’t anymore concern myself about the potential weirdness of it all.

Why do I do it? Same response: It grounds me. I feel better. I return from a visit to nature feeling more calm, more in the present, more likely to deal easily with whatever comes my way.

In case the little science guy on your shoulder is laughing his ass off right now (I know ‘cuz I gots one, too), there is science now to show that, indeed, tree hugging (you don’t have to hug, just touch) benefits your health.

What can you get from being in touch with a tree? It’s been confirmed that trees bestow healthful benefits if you’re having issues with things such as:

• ADHD and concentration levels
• Depression
• Headaches
• Blood pressure
• Stress and cortisol levels

Japan’s residents practice forest bathing — spending quiet time absorbing the wisdom of anicient forests and taking long walks among the trees. They believe it stimulates their immune system. In Taoism, it’s believed that trees absorb negative energy, replacing it with healthy energy. Trees are seen as a source of both emotional and physical healing.

Supposedly, simply being in nature reaps the same benefits. And, I agree – being in nature always does me a world of good. But there’s something a little extra in touching a tree. It amps up that nature goodness.

You can disbelieve all you want, but what does it hurt to try? If you can manage to suspend your doubts for a bit and give it a shot, then you can see if you, too, feel better.

Yes, yes, I’ve said this a billion and a half times, but we don’t seem to really get it: If you can go out in nature, enjoy yourself, place a hand or two on a big, old tree and come back feeling better, less stressed, in less pain and perhaps your immune system inside is humming along better, there’s no losing. There’s no cost. There are no side effects. There is no danger. These are the kind of things we should actively pursue … and trust … in our quest to live well.