Nature: It's like bread, we all need it to feed the soul

Today I watched a portion of the intro to a documentary "National Parks" by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns. The voice that begins the movie talks about nature being like bread, we all need it. We need it for our soul and as a place of solace and prayer. I couldn't agree more!! Some times I have a yearning for nature, just like I yearn for water or chocolate.

School, work and life have been stressful lately. A couple weeks ago I decided to seek solace and a change of pace by going camping. I felt like it was a misfortunate adventure. It was not quiet and peaceful and I got rained out. The highlight of my expedition was breakfast and coffee at a nearby general store where they allowed me to join what they called "The Philosopher's Circle." On this day it was a group of four middle aged men who met for coffee and to talk about latest events and make decisions. I love that about small towns! Since this adventure I have been looking for other opportunities to be in nature.

Yesterday I went riding solo for the first time since The Fall in July. I went for about 45 minutes in a neighborhood I began running in a little over a year ago. It is a part of town that is growing and developing quickly. It has been fun to watch this neighborhood grow. This area used to be an airport and when I started running in this neighborhood googlemaps showed the old terminals, runways, etc. It was fun to joke about running on the runway. The control tower is still there and many that I run with talk about having picked people up at the airport. Now this neighborhood has also become a cool place to ride my bicycle. Yesterday the yards were decorated with ghosts and goblins. The weather was great for a bike ride. I'm grateful I scrapped my plans of locking myself in the library.

Today I parted with the usual running group and went for a run at a nearby state park. The weather was amazing! It was great running among the tall trees, the creek beds and seeing groups of young deer. I also enjoyed hearing the sounds of birds and trees wresting as opposed to other people's conversations about last night's date. A few years ago my brother lead a group of his peers to this park. It's become something of an urban park. A man and his son, who was about 5 years old, got out of their vehicle. Father to the son, "Son, this is wilderness." They were in the parking lot facing the picnic tables. Pity the poor child who is not able to recognize wilderness if there's not a parking lot, picnic tables and paved trails!