There is that singular moment.
It's that instance in which you walk just deep enough into the woods, where the light begins to shift as the sun filters softly through the trees and the ground beneath you is still dewy from the early morning mist. The leaves of the trees are aquiver with jubilation and intrigue, for there is a being in their midst, and they have been otherwise undisturbed in a deep sleep for quite some time. Bees, birds, and creepy crawlies create a mellifluous hum that bounces off of the rocks and bark-covered trunks before cascading into your ears. You have a sense that nature is alive all around you.
You try not to disturb the working ecosystem, your lips sealed tightly and holding in your breath, and you allow your eyes to soak in your surroundings. In those few seconds, you feel yourself connected to the vastness of nature in a sweet serendipitous reunion of sorts. For a fleeting moment, you experience harmony and peace.
I have discovered that my human spirit finds healing in nature. There is an innate, raw, and undeniable connection that we as beings have to nature. It has the power to center us and give us direction, although we may be lost within it. There is something about crisp Colorado air that clears the mind. Standing still and looking up at the Aspen trees creating a leafy canopy above you can make you feel sheltered and safe. I believe that our souls are attracted to unconstrained beauty. It brings us back to a primitive state, in which we are able to hear the earth’s symphony once more; a symphony that has long been forgotten in today’s society.
Being deep within a great expanse of beauty, mountains, meadows, and forests can empower us and make us feel like we're a part of something. And yet, in all of it, we find that we are so little. We are but minuscule dots on this great big earth. When this realization comes, our worries and preoccupations seem to float up into the sky and diminish into bits of dust.
Perhaps that is what stars are made of, the remnants of our worldly worries. They flicker down on us to remind us of something greater beyond ourselves. The vastness will encompass us, pick us up, spin us around in a quiet flurry, and then lightly set us down so that we can continue on our path.
And so we must soak up the wilderness and drink in the cool forest sip by sip, so that until you meet with it again, you will be satisfied; your soul will be satisfied.
