Nature

Nature can do a lot in the way of effecting human emotion. It's bleak, harsh landscapes can instill a hopelessness rarely felt, and it's brilliance can change the way we view ourselves, and the world around us. Natural disasters can destroy everything we know and love, and renew the earth through destruction that nothing can match, almost as if the elements need to remind us every once in a while that they're the ones in charge here on this planet, not the human race. Not being one to wax sentimental, at least not often, seeing the beauty all around and stopping to smell the roses every once in a while is something rarely done, the excuse usually being "No time, gotta hurry".

At the best of times, an excuse like the one aforementioned is something that we all use to justify the fact that most of us chose to ignore the environment around us, instead choosing the mundane drudgery of our daily lives, which honestly makes one wonder why? Why do we ignore the beauty around us? Why do we ignore what we have been given to enjoy? For some, it's just too much of a hassle, and for others, it's just a complete oversight. It's time to smell the roses, both metaphorically, and literally, at least for this creature caught up in the world.

Being in the outdoors is a spiritual experience in and of itself. It forces you to see all the beauty that surrounds us, and has always been there, but living in towns or cities, we don't usually see because the suburban sprawl has overrun the last vestiges of it, allowing us to conveniently push it to the back of our minds. We now also have these convenient things called "city parks" where people can get there fill of so called "scenic beauty" without even having to leave the luxury of their sedan unless they want to!!

What one needs to realize, is that unlike everything else in this day and age, there's no drive through for breath taking vista's, no "app" for the feeling of being sore after miles of strenuous hiking, no pill that can make us feel the sense of accomplishment we get after reaching the end of a hike and seeing something rarely seen anywhere else, no "e-book" telling us how it feels to see the sun break over the crest of a mountain ridge we have yet to conquer with nothing but our strength of will and physical exertion. In a world of modern convenience it's something very easily overlooked, and often forgotten: We've been given much in the way of natural beauty, so we might as well slow down, turn off our phones, disconnect from our facebooks, unplug our ipods, leave our laptops behind and get out there and experience it.

"I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright." -Henry David Thoreau