Spending Time Outside

With work, school, and all the other responsibilities of life, I feel like I spend way too much time indoors focusing on the busy-ness of it. Or, not focusing on anything at all, and just staring into a pit of nothingness (The TV or PC) while precious moments in time slowly slip by.

How many days... how many minutes have I wasted? How many sunsets and sunrises have I missed? There are days when each moment in time almost feels unchanged... as if each minute that is about to happen is predictable, and each day, a re-run.

Sometimes, it almost feels like Paul and I are the only ones on earth.

Yes - Cars rumble as they drive by, neighbors chatter loudly, doors slam, car alarms go off, dogs bark, airplanes fly by, and the loud annoying rumble of a lawnmower periodically interrupts a silent moment... all reminders to me that there are others around. But there is still a massive feeling of disconnectedness in the air.

I feel disconnected. I feel alone.

Then I remember that human beings are just one of the millions of living things in this universe. I remember what it feels like when I am walking alone along a path in the mountains shaded by trees. I remember what it feels like when I lay on my back on fresh green grass and gaze up at the clouds. I remember how alive I feel when Paul and I walk hand-in-hand toward a setting sun, and the sky is filled with piercing purple, orange, red, yellow, and blue beams of light and energy.

Being outside truly helps me feel connected to the earth. I feel closer to Mother Nature, my family, my friends, all the things I love. I feel closer to God when I am surrounded by lush green trees, or when I happen to catch a cool purposeful breeze on my face as it wisps by.

I can feel, deep down in my soul, how good being out in nature is for me. I know I am never alone when I am spending time outside.

Therefore... I have decided to take a moment, each day, to appreciate and connect with nature. We don't live by a mountainside or in a place you would immediately see as a Garden of Eden. But it really doesn't matter.

If it's just a moment of closing my eyes and taking a deep breath in each morning before I get in my car... that is something. There are big, green trees here filled with chirping birds to look at and listen to. The sky is open and blue, filled with gigantic, white, puffy clouds. We even have squirrels in our trees sometimes. And although it is hot and muggy most of the time, there is still usually a light breeze that helps the tree branches sway back and forth in an almost rhythmic motion. There is a park nearby with beautiful sparkling lakes, shaded trails, buffalo, and other animals of different kinds to view.

In the end, it won't matter that I missed an episode of The Dead Zone on TV. But the time I spend bonding with my family, my friends, and nature will matter.

I am part of nature, and I am never alone.