Get Outdoors Often

Time to get outdoors. You know, out of the house, the office, the workspace, the doors. It’s a little thing with big dividends. I try to walk daily and look at the world — from the micro to the macro. It’s good exercise for the body and mind. As I walk I become more grateful, thankful, more appreciative of where God has led me. I really believe that he blesses me with interesting places to live, walk, and discover nature. As a consequence, I’m more interested in geology and history, two subjects that passed me by when I was in college. I’m curious about how the earth evolved and how it will continue to change.

I agree with Hugh Nibley when he explained how nature rejuvenates you and how you should get outdoors often:

Nature provided Hugh rejuvenation and solace. Since his childhood growing up in Oregon, his greatest passion next to books was nature. After one excursion in the mountains he wrote, “suddenly I discover I haven’t grown up.” And during a particularly stressful period of life, Hugh wrote of nature’s ability to heal:

After a few hours of sitting or walking about in a perfect emptiness of sand and air one imperceptibly relaxes and begins to soak up certain basic realizations which in any other setting would not be accepted without a struggle. … For me this was escape pure and simple, but I came back after another day greatly refreshed, having seen some marvelous country that I had never dreamed existed. (What I Learned about Life, the Church, and the Cosmos from Hugh Nibley)

When we walk out into nature, we leave behind the noise of daily living. I think that helps — a kind of silence. Erling Kagge shares how silence and wonder are connected in his book, Silence in the Age of Noise: 

For me, silence is not merely about the complete absence of sound; it is also about the ability to find wonder in the everyday. Wonder is one of the purest forms of joy that I can imagine. I enjoy the feeling. I often wonder. I do it almost everywhere: when traveling, alone or with my three daughters, when meeting people, or whenever I feel my heart beat, hear something for the first time or see the sunrise.

I found some odd bits of nature on my escape today. Since I moved, I have an entirely new area to explore which opens up a new vista.

A couple of days ago I saw this communal living cocoon:

 

Actually, I saw quite a few of them. Then today, they were escaping the confines of their communal cocoon:

I’m not sure what kind of caterpillars these are — but if you know, please do share.

Of course, I had to collect some rocks along the way, since that is one of my hobbies. When we moved I had crates of rocks I had gathered and could not part with. Somehow, I always seem to live by old mining areas.