Not normal...but lots of fun.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Nature Lovin'


I went for a walk today, and found myself thinking of a friend of mine. He loves to go out with people, and is an intensely social creature. In fact, he feels sorry for me because I don't get out much. Now, I bewail this same trouble myself. But it also left me wondering, does he see what I see in the beauty of nature around him?

Honestly, I don't feel like I miss much. On my little walk in the woods, I see more beauty and life then I could ever need. I love going to different parks and staring at different nature scenes, but even the same view every day always gives me something to marvel at. Some days, I marvel at the tall, tall trees that tower over my head. Their majesty fills me with awe and I wonder to myself how many years it took for them to grow. Was I even alive when they were saplings?


Then, I stare at the saplings growing right now, underneath that canopy. Someday, I know, if left alone, many of those saplings will tower over some other nature lover walking through the woods, but for now they struggle and strive to survive in the dusky gloom of the woods. What fortitude they must have, to make themselves keep going despite the lack of life-giving light! Would I be that determined to survive, under similar circumstances?

Other times, I stare at the dirt and wonder to myself how something so dull and ugly could be the home of millions and bring such beauty into the world as trees, flowering plants, and grasses. And yet, it does. It gives them the nutrients they need to thrive, and the supportive darkness the roots need to protect them. It allows them access to water, and cradles their roots like a mother lovingly holds a baby.


And still other times, I stare at the many rocks in the ground. How many years did it take for the ground to compact them into that shape? How long for them to harden, to become stone? How long until water beats them into other shapes?

That isn't even touching on the animals I see: squirrels, spiders, snakes, bugs, deer, bunnies, foxes, possums, and dogs. You never know what you might find on a nature walk, and it's always a new discovery.

Nature is amazing. Words simply don't do it justice. And striding through it can make you feel such awe, such incredible smallness, that you simply can't give it words. I might wish I got out a little more, but I don't feel deprived. I have the woods; he has his socializing.

I think we're both lucky.

To finish this episode of nature lovin', I have a poem I'd like to share. It's all about another piece of nature that I find incredible, the ocean.

Ocean


Forward it comes
Standing tall and strong
Until if falls
And becomes flat and long
Then backwards it sweeps
Greedily sucking the sand
Stealing the beach
Bringing to sea, part of land
Watch the waves hungrily grab
All that they can reach
Sand, shells, and all
See the world, beach by beach
The water ever moving
As far as you can see
What lies beneath
An eternal mystery
Hiding the depths
Beneath the blue-gray
Reflecting the stars
Or the bright light of day
Reaches to infinity
Where water meets sky
And sea and horizon
Melt together to the eye
The wonders of the ocean
Make you stop and stare
At the beauty in motion
But there's danger, beware!
It drowns the unwary
Devours the weak
So foolish and daring
Careful what you seek
It's home to many
Understood by few
A bounty of life
But death is there, too

So, I hope you liked that. Time for today's writing quote and then I'm off:

"Poetry is the liquid voice that can wear through stone." -- Adrienne Rich

Have a great day and happy writing, everyone!

5 comments:

  1. I love nature. It's just so beautiful! Everytime I go for walks in parks or even just round the back roads (I live in the countryside) I'm in awe of its beauty. When I'm outside, I always say to myself that I should go for walks more often as I love what I see so much. Though my laziness kicks in which I hate and I stay inside :(

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  2. I love the beauty of nature as well - there's a tree near where I live and I used to go and climb up it and stare at the sky and the fields - it's such a wonderful feeling to be lost in a wilderness sometimes, even if you're not actually that far from houses/cities etc!

    Are you writing a book?

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  3. To paraphrase the philosopher Peter Griffin: Nature's freakin' sweet. But seriously, I love to go on hikes, go camping, and stuff to explore a little of nature. Unfortunately, my wife is disabled, so we can't go on many hikes these days, but we still like to take walks through the park and stuff. Although we're reluctant to walk much in the May through August months. Southern summers are killer.

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  4. i love nature! But now, most of the parks are man made and surrounds with buildings.

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