It is easy to feel overwhelmed, especially in our modern age, to become stressed to a maximum degree by the minutiae, and not just the bigger problems, of daily life. It’s not just the world at large, it’s our own personal universes. There is work, which doesn’t stop when we punch the clock (my job anyway), there’s housework, bills, caring for our kids, possibly our family members who are sick or elderly.
Somewhere amid all this, we have to take care of ourselves. I can remember when I was a kid my mother saying it was nearly impossible for her to go to bed before eleven o’clock or midnight most nights. I always thought to myself, well, just go to bed at a decent hour. I didn’t understand until I became a parent that there was always something to do, some matter of importance which needed attention (like laundry; my God, laundry is never-ending) and, sometimes, it’s easier to get our crap done when everyone else is asleep.
So, yeah, it’s easy for life to steamroll us, for stress, no matter how small, to dig its talons in deep. Take a breather and get back to Nature. Enjoy the outdoors for a refreshing respite. Stroll through the woods, walk the trails and walkways at local parks. Walk around your neighborhood. If you can, ignore your phone and any other device, unless there is an emergency, of course.
Listen to Nature. Admire it. Absorb it and respect it.
It’s a wonderful season for a commune with Nature, even a brief one. The leaves are changing colors, they are cascading through the air, and the temperature is more or less cooperative and pleasant. The woods smell different in Autumn, too, so breathe in the fresh, fall air. When we respect Nature, it gives back to us.
I hope your walk is a stress reliever, and I hope you find it to be a time of soothing contemplation. Answers tend to reveal themselves easier separated from the rat-race. The famous quote from Tolkien is, “All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost.” A walk in the woods, maybe taking the oft-discussed path less traveled, could lead us to discover where we are actually going and grant us new perspectives on how to get there.
Curio Macabre 