A Place in Nature

What riches are ours in the world of nature, from the majesty of the distant peak to the fragile beauty of a tiny flower, and all without cost to us, the beholders!  No person is poor who has watched a sunrise or who keeps a mountain in his or her heart.   -Esther Baldwin York

It's amazing just how much we value things like money and material possessions when we're surrounded by amazing beauty and miracles all the time.  The natural world is one of the most important parts of our lives, yet most of us either take it for granted or ignore it completely as we go along in our daily lives.  It's easy to do when we live in cities, of course, and we see very little of nature from day to day, but if we really want to benefit from our experiences on this planet, it's important that we make an effort to make nature a real part of our daily lives.

It's not always easy to do this, of course.  And for some people, it's much more work than it is for others.  But even when I've lived in cities, I've always been able to find and appreciate little pockets of nature wherever they turn up.  The hardest city I ever lived in was Salamanca, for there's very little nature to be seen there.  But there are plenty of tiny parks all over the place, and I found several "favorite spots" where I could go just to be near trees and flowers and plants.  I easily could have gone weeks on end without enjoying their company had I not searched them out, but it's always been important to me on an instinctive level to maintain contact with nature in my life, so I did so.

The benefits to me have always been a sense of peace and relaxation in the midst of a hectic and somewhat unfriendly environment, where I've been surrounded by cement, for the most part.  Finding a tree to sit under always reminds me that life goes on, no matter what else happens--the stress of my day means less when I'm sitting in the shade of a tree that doesn't care one way or another about all those little stress-causers in our lives.  The trees and flowers remind me that in the bigger picture, all is well, and that the world is filled with resilience and beauty.

I do see many people who live in small towns, completely surrounded by nature, who also take it for granted or ignore it.  What a tragic mistake they're making, to ignore what could be the source of many, many pleasant moments that will help them to achieve a sense of peace and balance!  I would love to take them by the hand and lead them to a beautiful place where they could experience the feeling of being in the presence of eternity, but my guess is that many of them would simply shrug their shoulders, say "thanks," and turn and go home to resume their busy, crowded lives.

Where is nature around you?  How do you take advantage of all that it offers you?  Please remember that it's there and that it's waiting for you, and it will welcome you just as it welcomes everyone else--without judgment and without condition; and as long as you treat it well, it will treat you very well indeed.  Find that park bench or that trail in the woods that you can call your own, and enjoy it immensely and regularly!