Space enough for peace

At the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, we aren’t developing the latest iPhone apps. We can’t give you tasting notes on local craft beers. And we definitely aren’t touting ways to trim that stubborn belly fat with the latest workout craze.

Our work isn’t trendy. And that’s OK by us. Our work aims to meet a particular, timeless need: our community’s need for space.

I often hear my boss, Rick Huffines, define habitat as “food, water, shelter — and space.” His point is that to be healthy we need elbow room. That’s why each day, Rick, I and others work to protect more land, maintain more trails and tell more inner-city kids about the river in their backyard. Because that is our part to play in bettering this world.

We need places where we’re reminded of the natural world from which we came. We need spots that prompt us to recall we will one day die and be reabsorbed into the earth.

We need space.

The Trust protects about 17,000 acres of this elbow room because it’s in nature — away from the hustle — where we calm our frenzied lives enough to begin to grow our empathy; to begin to have patience for others; and, ultimately, to be at peace with ourselves and others.

Hannah Shadrick is the business and creative director at the Tennessee River Gorge Trust. She blogs at www.trgt.org/blog.