Saturday, July 3, 2010

How often do you take the time to enjoy the small details of the outdoors?

I have often discovered that I have been blessed with a gift of noticing the simple things in my enjoyment of the outdoors. I think this comes from sitting in the woods hour after hour deer hunting and taking time to watch nature unfold. I have come to the conclusion that sunrises and sunsets are never observed exactly the same as you take in the landscape around you during the process. I think they are often taken for granted and passed by without a single thought. I mean after all when was the last time you sat and watched one for a half an hour or even an hour? It’s sad to think that most people today are so driven by modern conveniences and the need for immediate entertainment that they fail to recognize how amazing the outdoors can really be. As hunters and fisherman the full experience of the outdoors actually makes each adventure worthwhile.

I have often found that a moment spent alone outdoors in thoughtful reflection can be healing for your mind, body and soul. Alone with no distractions of modern civilization you can only recognize the direct gifts of god. A time of clear thinking whether at great measures or simple thoughts. It is clearly a missing practice by most modern people today. I believe we all need interactions with nature to feel our best. I find this the most in moments when I watch sun beams crossing my fingertips as the sun advances early in the morning or the feel of wet grass as it embraces the bottom of my feet. The smell of fresh honey suckles caught by a soft breeze and gently turned under my nose on a warm summer day.

What type of entertainment can bring such an amazing array of events to your senses? The peacefulness I find in the woods and along the water often carries a great symphony of sounds to my ears. From the simplest of sounds to a noise which can be identified and noticeable almost immediately. Isn’t it amazing how the simple pass of a single bee can be both interesting and aggravating at the same time? A quite moment in a sun filled meadow overtaken by the disturbance of a rising steady buzzing sound which comes quickly to your ears and falls away in the distance silence as the insect passes by.

From the amazing aromas of wild flowers to the tainted smells of damp leaves as the smell rises along the edge of a creek bed. Have you ever noticed that the same flowing stream always has a different mix of sounds when water trickles, turns, or pushes over rocks of various sizes and configurations? Advancing up or down the stream brings an ever-changing sound of music to your ears.

Small detailed observations I’ve noticed have imprinted visions on my mind and haunted my memories. I remember a day watching a stand of tall beech trees as they filled with a slight wind which pushed trembling leaves as a warm summer breeze cooled my skin momentary from the heat of the blazing sun. Take the time to experience all the aspects of nature that unfold in front of you. The enjoyment will bring you a fantastic gift of memory and peacefulness to your soul.

Written by Hampton Brewer AKA VAOUTDOORSMAN