Part 1

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder – present a piece of art to a crowd of a hundred people and you’ll receive mixed reviews. We all have biases that impact how we react to the world – how we see beauty. Even so, I’ve found that nearly every soul I’ve known has (at one point) been awed by the beauty of nature. Take me to the trees, finding peace in nature – is a series dedicated to my moments captured outdoors and how they heal my soul. I hope this ongoing series will inspire you to find similar moments.

Think about your first memory of an experience in nature. Maybe it’s the cold and gritty texture of mud between your fingers and toes after a rainstorm – the sweet smell of lilacs blooming as you speed past a garden on your bike – the feeling of the sun beating down on your shoulders as you dig a hole in the dirt with a nubby stick – the loud whisper of crickets in the marsh as you fall asleep – nature is beautiful because it envelops all of our senses.

And, yeah, nature is also brutal and uncomfortable sometimes – kind of like life.

But somewhere between brutality and magnificence, there is something so healing and freeing in our experience with nature.

Take me to the trees: Finding Rest

It’s almost like my soul rests the moment I step into the woods – with nothing around me but trees, dirt, air, and shy wildlife. This solace drowns out the noise from the rest of the world – overstimulation and fatigue kind of drift away like a puff of smoke.

It’s a feeling that can’t be adequately described – only felt in real time and place. My hope in sharing my nature walks/hikes with you is that you’ll do the same. Find a new trailhead, take a five minute stroll in down your street, head to a local nature preserve, sit on a bench in a park, gaze at the sky from your porch and wonder. Find pause and peace. Always, peace, love & light (after coffee) my friends.