It seems the workday often follows me to the day’s end. Well after I arrive home, sit on a couch, and try to relax I am persuaded in my head to only think of work. The actual job, life chores, and the structures of my life; all my work insistently chatters at my thoughts. The self-induced stress this can bring I am all too familiar with, but it’s not until I step outside and take a breath, do I feel the sudden relaxation that the natural world provides.
Maybe it’s because I live in a rural county where National Forest outnumbers private property, and when I step outside it’s into a land not yet taken over by housing condominiums or lawn gnomes, but I believe there are many areas where Nature’s breath can still be heard. Of what remains of the public parks and designated wilderness, there is still space to feel the air of natural light, to reclaim your senses, and to be a part of this world you live in.
The uneven rhythm of insects chirping and the underlying silence that stretches on for miles, the translucent ebb and flow of Nature’s song. As I take my breath in and fill my lungs, it engulfs me. The lack of noise and distractions, it filters my thoughts and puts me at ease. Everything around me is doing their part, the moon is rising and the snakes sliver to warmth, the temperature is dropping and the creek is flowing, and I am sitting right where I am at, in the middle of it all. It’s a small comfort, but the five minutes sitting outside to catch my breath goes a long way amidst a hectic day.
Go outside, catch your breath, and play
-Brad
