Wild Canadian Rye and Ironweed | © Brad Mangas
I watched a morning news show recently and they ran a nice piece about the benefits of nature. The segment mentioned a peregrine falcon that had built its nest atop a train bridge. Of all the places in nature to build a nest it picked a place where the noise, vibration and just plain irritation of a train would be just below it’s home. Why would it choose such a place? The only answer seems to be it just wasn’t bothered by all the seemingly distractions of the train. It had room, was up high and met the requirements of raising it’s young. Can we all learn a lesson from the parenting falcon?
Our lives are full of the everyday distractions of such things. We go day after day with seemingly irritations of human life ranging from the noisy hustle and bustle of city life to the unexpected changes that always seem to come up at the wrong time. But what if you could just place those things to the side and concentrate on what you have and the things that allow you live in happiness. Thoughts of being in nature or enjoying the fresh cool morning air for example. It may be hard to place yourself in an ideal situation when distractions seem to be all around. My believe is it comes down to your thought process. Choose the calmness of being in nature over the stress of meeting a deadline or just commuting to work. Let yourself become more in touch with the natural world and less consumed by the artificial things that you think you have to do or have. Take an extra walk in the evening throughout your week and let yourself enjoy what nature can do.
There seems to no more enjoyable time than when I’m surrounded by the outdoors. Most times I prefer to be alone, driving a country road or walking a distant trail. No talking, just looking and listening. Stopping to look at the flowering bloom of a wildflower or noticing just how many seeds there are on a stem of native grass. Hearing a distant bird and wondering what kind it is. Stop look and listen at what nature is about and keep the experience in your mind for times that seem to be void of the calmness we all need. I believe this is why nature is so important to our own health and well being. Treat yourself to memories of nature and the comfort it has brought you.
Like the falcon, don’t let the obvious distractions become your focus. Nature is all around, all you have to do is notice it.
Tech data: Canon dslr, Canon 17-40 f/4L, f16 @ .7, iso 100, manual exposure, pattern metering, 0.0 comp, raw converted in cs4, curves, color corrections.
