Developing An Appreciation For Nature

CrashingWaves

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When was the last time you were at the beach? Did you inhale deeply, and notice the smell of the ocean air, or the taste of the salt on your tongue? Did you look down at the sand that surrounded you, like a thick blanket covering the earth, and notice all the different colors that were in it? The blues, the greens, the pinks, the purples, and the crystals in the sand, that you can't see without closer inspection?

The last time you were in the forest, did you notice the unique characteristics of each individual tree? How the trunk curves slowly up as it goes higher into the sky, or the texture of the bark on each tree. If you looked closely enough you would notice the scratch marks left by the squirrels, and woodpeckers who had clung to the bark, in search of a meal. Did you kneel down in the dirt, and inhaled its scent, in so doing, you discover that different dirt, from different places, has a unique scent? As you put your face closer to the earth, you can feel the coolness on your face, and feel the compress under the weight of your hands.

Those are merely just a couple of the thousands of illustrations I could give you. The real question we need to asks ourselves now, is just how much are we missing every single day? Many of us seem to be content with the knowledge we have, and never make the effort to learn more about the world around us. In the 21st century, we have been spoiled with something called the internet. We have been given the tools to almost unlimited knowledge, but few of us actually use them for that purpose. Part of this is due to the fact, that nothing can truely beat the real thing. An example of this would be if you were to read a paragraph, about somebody watching a tiger stalk through the jungle. Depending on how it's written, you can get a very good picture of every happening in our minds. Now imagine yourself really there, watching a tiger stalk through the woods. You see the intense look in his eyes, an almost unblinking stare that penetrates deep within you. You see him lift a large paw, and slowly place it on the earth, without a single sound. You realize that a 500 pound animal is moving absolutely silently through a jungle, while you yourself weigh around 170 pounds, and sound like a raging elephant coming through a solid wooden wall.

Obviously during this observation you can view it as merely a tiger, stalking its prey, in order to eat. Or you can appreciate every movement of the animal, every breath it takes so carefully in order to not make a sound, and every muscle that tightens in his body as he moves. The choice is truely up to you, about how much you really want to get out of life. We will never be able to catch every single happening around us, but we can do better than most of us do, in missing 99% of everything that happens around us each day. Something all of us should do much more often, is something so simple as opening our eyes, and our minds to the world around us. Don't let your mind be somewhere else, recapping everything that happened yesterday. Let your mind be where you are, and be one with your world. With your mind in yesterday, just how much are you missing today?

God Bless,
Joshua & W.C.
 
Profound and incredibly moving my friend. Well done, and I will remember your words, for they are of great wisdom. If only we could all learn to so appreciate what is all around us.

-Lynden
 

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