The Value of Nature

 For Easter I chose to spend my afternoon at Sunset Cliffs. If I could, I would encourage everyone to spend at least part of each holiday outdoors.

Photo from Ikenbot

Cloud Lightning

    I've always loved lightning storms. Many children are afraid of them, but I thought they were kind of amazing (and in fact, I remember making fun of my childhood best friend for her fear... I was such a nice kid... )

    When I was younger, my mom would take me out on the front porch to watch thunderstorms. I loved it. It made me feel brave and alive to be in the presence of nature while it was demonstrating its power.

Delight

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.

-Khalil Gibran

Light and Beauty

Remembering today that the key to being caught up in awe at the world around me is to never get too accustomed to it. I'm remembering to take nothing for granted, to see everything as if for the first time, to experience everything as if I knew it would be the last time.

Approaching the world that way brings all of the colour and light and beauty back. You can be surrounded by the same thing day in and day out, and forget the magic of it... or, you can look at it with fresh eyes every time...appreciate that you have eyes capable of seeing the world around you, ears capable of hearing the roar of thunder or of cars on the road and the soft chatter of birds on the other side of the windowpane, skin capable of feeling the soft bed beneath you or the wind rushing past you or the smoothness of your lover's skin.

People rush too much, and forget to experience the beauty around them.

Photo by LunaDawnImages

That's my challenge to everyone this week. Go outside; look around, really sense the world around you. 

In this Life...

Create something to last beyond you. Plant a tree and nourish it and watch it grow. Write a piece and have it published. Build something enduring.