The trailer still sits outside behind the shuttered tool house draped in a blue tinted tarp…waiting. My family doesn’t use it much anymore, but it still echoes of past events that are still ingrained in my memory. Pop-up trailers are rare sight nowadays because most people who still go camping, seek the most modern RV with a pull out television and an indoor shower. My father’s trailer today is essentially a fossil, a remnant of times when people still sat around the campfire and enjoyed the sound of animals chattering into the night. However, even my family made mistakes, like the trailer, we would “pop up” into a campsite enjoy nature for the weekend and then resume our life in the fast- paced city. We blew through the peaceful countryside like a breeze on a cool summer day, taking what nature had to offer, and then leaving it without giving back. We saw the natural landscape but never stayed long to appreciate its deeper meaning. We took for granted the land around us using the blissfulness of the Earth as fuel for busy lives, yet turning a blind eye to why we needed it to build our strength and perseverance.
We have been blessed with the world that is so beautiful in every sense of the word. The swans glide across the water as if they are performing a ballet; the mountains tower over each and every one of use poised and exact in their appearance, and the unique wildflowers spread across the grass each a representation of individualism. Each of these elements works together in a harmonic machine and contain so much unheard history within their cores.
People today have become so caught up in the destination that they no longer see the process, they don’t stop to take time out of their days to observe the significance of the world around them. Don’t just stop and look, stop and engage. Explore the meanings behind the natural world and question the whys. If all you ever do is ask how you will never completely understand the world. The process of meditating on a question for hours on end brought about the great ideas of Aristotle and Socrates and created the ideas surrounding religion. Don’t get me wrong- science is of great importance when we need the physical resources to fix a problem facing humans as a species, however, how are we supposed to create the idea for that better future if we don’t stop and think?
Nature provides us with an outlet for thought. It provides a place where we feel encouraged to pursue new ideas and feel free to improve upon ourselves. This is because nature is a lesson. Within water, we learn about individual elements working together as a cohesive unit. By examining the impacts of a volcano, we can see how out of destruction can come a new environment unique in its own right.
As college students, we need to get out of our quiet nitch in the library and go out and explore the hiking trails around the school. We need to set up our ENO and read as the wind blows through our hair. And we need to sit quietly beside the flowing rivers and question the world around us. One thing an undergraduate advising session can’t tell you are the positive impacts that stem from being outside. College kids are more prone to depression and anxiety than any other age group due to the tight deadlines and lack of sleep, so we need to take time to just relax. Because sooner or later we won’t be young and we will regret the times we didn’t take to experience what surrounds us. Don’t just stop and think, stop and experience, stop and question, stop and surround yourself with the life that is just outside the closed walls
