When my kids were little, we fished. A lot.
While their daddy and I cast our lines, they cast themselves — straight into the dirt. They dug. They rolled. They made mud pies and tiny stick forts. They got filthy. And they thrived.

We’d scoop them up, hose them off, and life would go on.
They weren’t constantly sick. In fact, they were some of the healthiest kids I knew.

Contrast that with my best friend’s children.
She was a careful, cautious mother.
Indoor play. Hand sanitizer. Minimal dirt, minimal risk.
And yet — constant colds, sniffles, and doctor visits filled her calendar.

It wasn’t until years later that I understood the hidden wisdom in our messier approach:

Dirt isn’t dirty. It’s medicine.

The Hidden Health Benefits of Dirt

Modern science now confirms what intuition long whispered.
Soil is teeming with beneficial microbes — nature’s invisible pharmacy.

When children play in dirt:

• They are exposed to good bacteria that help train and regulate their immune systems.
• They build resilience instead of fragility, developing natural defenses rather than relying solely on sterile environments.
• They connect, physically and energetically, to the earth itself → grounding and regulating their nervous systems.

In a world obsessed with “sanitized everything,” we have forgotten that exposure — in balance — is essential for healthy development.

Dirt Connects Us to Something Deeper

It’s not just biology.
It’s ancestral. Emotional. Human.

My kids didn’t just play in dirt.
They belonged to it.

They explored without fear, without parental micromanagement.
They tasted freedom as much as mud pies.
And that freedom planted seeds they still carry today → curiosity, resilience, and trust in their own bodies.

Nature didn’t coddle them.
Nature empowered them.

Returning to Dirt in Our Own Lives

Even as adults, we need this reconnection.
Gardening. Barefoot walks. Digging with our hands.
These are not hobbies.
They are invitations → back to wholeness.

In a time where screens dominate and convenience sterilizes everything, dirt remains honest and healing.

So if you’re a parent, or even if you’re not — consider this:

• Let your kids play.
• Let yourself play.
• Let dirt be what it has always been → medicine for body, mind, and spirit.

Dirt Isn’t Dirty. It’s Necessary.

What began as simple fishing trips became a lifelong lesson:

The earth knows how to care for us — if we let it.

So go ahead.
Plant something.
Roll in something.
Get your hands dirty.

Your immune system — and your soul — will thank you.