Ah, Nature

This picture I took of moss and rock and dirt and life is from my backyard. I am so intrigued by nature and I appreciate and notice it so much more than I ever used to. In fact, I notice all my surroundings more than I used to. Noticing the nature that each and every one of us have buried our lives into is more or less meditating. Noticing anything, in fact, is a mindfulness meditation. Watching the wind bend the trees, listening to the rustling of leaves, feeling the air on our skin, hearing the birds... all these peaceful, mindful, tasks of simply noticing brings a tremendous amount of calm to me. I truly have grown to absolutely love being outside (which I like to tell myself is our natural habitat; technically it is).

The other day my good friend and I walked from her house - which is the next town over - to my house, and it was a good 2 1/2 to 3 hour walk. Minus my legs and feet nearly giving out on me after a good 2 hours, I truly enveloped myself in the walk. We walked through long stretches of land and crops and trees and by the lake and I just loved it. We've walked it and rode our bikes that distance before and it is just splendid (except that one time that bugs swarmed us the entire time).

I just can't illustrate enough how much I adore Earth and the contents of it - excluding all the man-made crap, of course. I also think it's kinda funny to think about how nature basically laughs at us when it crawls up through our sidewalks and roads... as if we think we're superior! Ha!