Screens vs. Trees: A Debate for the Human Soul (and Chemistry)

Diana Erwin
May 1
2 min read

In a quiet forest glade, where sun dapples through branches and the wind hums a forgotten song, two figures meet.

One glows with a bluish light, buzzing softly, charged with data and dopamine. The other stands rooted, cloaked in scent of pine and damp earth, pulsing with chlorophyll and calm.

It’s not a fight.It’s a debate. And the topic?

The human soul.

Illustration created in collaboration with AI

SCREEN: “Let’s be real, Nature. I’m the reason they’re connected. I deliver answers, love notes, art, adventure—across continents and time zones. I’m learning, earning, creating. I fire dopamine—each ping, post, level-up. I reward them, motivate them. I am progress.”

NATURE: “You are progress. But I am presence. I slow time. I lower cortisol, the stress hormone you often spike with your endless alerts and comparison traps. I lift serotonin—the mood stabilizer. I soothe the amygdala. I widen their window of tolerance.”

SCREEN: “I sharpen focus too! I release norepinephrine, adrenaline. A little fight-or-flight fuels ambition. People build worlds with me—start businesses, learn languages, fall in love.”

NATURE: “And then they come to me when their hearts race too fast, when their necks ache, when their sleep breaks. With me, melatonin returns. Blood pressure lowers. Heart rate slows. Natural killer cells rise. Their immune system sings. Forest bathing isn’t a trend—it’s a restoration ritual.”

SCREEN: “Sure, but not everyone can get to you. I bring them virtual hikes. Ocean sounds. Forest meditation apps.”

NATURE: “You replicate what I am. I’m not pixels of peace. I’m the oxygen in their lungs. The mycelial network beneath their feet. The grounding. The awe. The oxytocin rise when they walk beside someone they love through me. I don’t offer escape—I offer return.”

(A pause. A wind stirs. A deeper voice rises—not Screen, not Tree, but Human. A remembering.)

HUMAN: “You both speak as if I’m choosing between one or the other… but you forget—I am not apart from nature. I am nature. And the forest is simply calling me home.”

SCREEN: (softening) “Then maybe I’m not meant to replace—but to support. To inspire. To amplify.”

NATURE: (gentle now) “And I’m here to reconnect. To restore. To remind.”

SCREEN: “Still, they need me. I’m their voice, their vision, their outreach. I make them visible. Especially when the world tries to silence them.”

NATURE: “And I remind them they are already enough. That they belong. Without performance. Without filters. I help them feel—not just think. I help them listen—to the wind, to their breath, to their soul.”

And here, we pause.

Because maybe this isn’t a debate. Maybe it’s a plea for balance.

Let screens offer us creativity, purpose, knowledge, and connection.

But let nature restore what we lose in the scroll: Wonder. Stillness. Presence. Embodiment.

Because the human nervous system wasn’t built for endless input—it was made for rhythm. Cycles. Seasons.

So before your thumb finds another feed,

Let your feet find the forest floor.

Let your breath sync with the breeze.

Let the dopamine rest.

Let the serotonin rise.

Let your soul remember—it has roots.