Mother Nature is Inviting

“The sound of nature is very real. It surrounds you….You can feel it”

-Ted Trueblood

Just started my holiday and I must say am starting to feel the holiday blues kick in. Spending all day lying on your back, music blaring on repeat on your pc. Hours pass by and trust me there seem to be plenty of hours to even worry about each passing hour. Being the not “so wise student”, money not well spent is usually hard to come by and well yeah, that’s how my holiday is going to be. But hey…wait a minute, let me walk you through this short path here. At times I recommend you ask yourself the “what if” questions. What if I did this, what if I didn’t do that? Why should you do something? Especially the obvious. Try the “why not” and seem what kind of assumptions you can come up with.

It was almost dawn and the story begins…

I know how it feels, he he... Like am talking to myself here. Ok I was spending most of my days indoors, idling around in the house and my body felt so heavy like it was not even mine. Well, when you think about a refreshing shower and how an easy late afternoon walk would do you some good, you actually feel it’s the right thing to do. But you are so demoralized and demotivated so much that you just fall back on the couch and you are back to day dreaming or whatever it is you like. You are just so consumed in your own world, busy with not usually actually work and of course too much thinking you are oblivious to the flowers blooming at your feet. Stop and smell the roses! You can’t even imagine for a minute how the weather may feel like outside. At times it is really great. Take a peek outside your window. Back to the matter at hand…I forcefully and unwillingly dragged my lazy body into the shower. Yep, that must have been one of the coldest showers I had taken in a long time (not by choice). I hadn’t fully immersed myself but stuck out my hand to feel the water temperature and I could help it but a thought hit my mind: “maybe it’s a little too early to take a shower”. But is it? Is it ever too early?

It is only with a calm mind that your thoughts are clear and undistorted. It is only with a clear mind that your senses can perceive how the environment around you can be awesome and full of the wonders of nature for all to enjoy.

For example on certain days I find myself missing the smell of rain after prolonged periods of dry season. This happens all the time and when it finally rains we don’t enjoy that feeling we have been yearning for. The noise of rainfall beating down on the ground before disappearing into the soil and bringing with it signs of new life. Isn’t spring just beautiful? But If only I could learn how to shut down all the thoughts and noises in my head and just be. Open to the mysteries of nature around me.

Sometimes when we are driving on the open road, I mean who doesn’t love the open roads? Almost everybody I know does. Isn’t the atmosphere just different? How about driving in the country side with the windows open? How about an evening cruise in the quieter uncongested suburbs? These are all totally refreshing and there is something about nature that is so beautiful it cannot be seen by the naked eye, but it can be experienced in different ways. Let’s imagine you are taking a walk along the beach around evening time when the temperatures are much cooler. I really enjoy feeling of fine sand in my toes, the cooling and calming of the ocean waves as they rhythmically sway back and forth up the beach. I’m sure you can smell the moist ocean breeze by now. Aren’t you missing out? The free luxuries that Mother Nature is inviting us to enjoy.

I’m quite sure everybody has a park somewhere in the neighborhood. A tree with a cool shade somewhere in the yard. How often do you take time out to just sit there and do absolutely nothing? Ever noticed how your senses are so sharp to the stimuli around you. Crackling sound of wood, chirping insects, leaves ruffling behind you. All this sounds have been proven to have a calming and soothing effect on your overall being. Not exactly crackling wood and leaves ruffling behind you…but we can think about the singing birds. This might not work for some people but it works for most. You can find whatever it is that really gets you calm about nature and try to enjoy it every now and then. At least everybody I know does enjoy sitting under a cool shady on an easy Saturday afternoon.

Oh, I almost forgot, between my neighborhood and my university there is a small forest that I have to go through on this path. I used this path everyday but then at most of times I will be so late for class that my mind is so far ahead of me thinking about what I maybe me missing out while I’m away. I always can’t help but notice how the air is so cool and fresh. It’s really quite at 0730 in the morning. It’s far away from all the sounds of industrialization and the sounds of nature are so outstanding my friend. It’s very real and wonderfully recharges you. At the same time am thinking why not wake up early even on free days to do some early morning activities. How about exercise? Jogging maybe? It can get a little bit tough getting out of your bed in the morning especially after those long nights of fun with the buddies. Well that’s the price to pay but believe me that’s as far as it goes. Once you have gotten past leaving your bed. Everything is a slide. Remember… Early to bed, early to rise.

We take mother nature for granted so much that it is only when we have been deprived of her that we miss the rain soaking into our clothes after a hot day, or the sunning hitting and warming up your face during a cold winter morning. Ever noticed how fresh the air just outside the train is all of a sudden the best thing that can happen to you when you are cramped in an overcrowded train car like sardines when you are travelling at peak hours? When the train doors slides open you step out and it feels like you are finally home where human beings breathe easy.

Well then I have to stop here. It has finally stopped raining. Is it time for some “hand-to-hand” with someone in the park?? Sounds good!

See you on the other side!