Inspired by nature

I am inspired by nature.

It's a simple thing, really. Trees, fresh mowed grass, sunlight peeking through a forest (see picture above), a mountain view, climbing a hill in my neighborhood. It's why I love recreating outdoors. I love every part of nature. The sky, the sun, the moon, the earth. What you can do with all of these parts of nature. It's most likely how travel writing became one of my specialties. 

I'm drawn to nature. It's why, during my most difficult moments in life, I turn to nature for her healing effects. It's why I ride a mountain bike. I prefer the mountain bike over the road bike because, on a mountain bike, you're less apt to ride on a busy city street. You're more apt to ride on trail. You're more likely to be riding alone. You're probably going to nearly run into a bush before you'll ever be threatened by the swoosh of a fast-driving automobile. I think my mountain bike's safer. Therefore, you could say I'm comforted by nature. It makes sense to me. How else would have been able to devise a B.I.K.E. program if I didn't find comfort in it. Believe me, my bike rides were the most comforting thing in my life at the time I first discovered their magic. To learn more about that, I urge you to search this site. It might take a while, but it will be worth visiting past posts that highlight the specific benefits of my B.I.K.E. program. 

Whether you have time or not, you might have noticed I'm also inspired to take photographs of nature. I use a lot of them on my blog here, including the one above. I took it when I was staying overnight in Greer, a small town in Arizona's White Mountains. If you ever get a chance to visit, it's a peaceful community, a great place to spend a summer or winter weekend. You can stay in a log cabin with a woodfire stove or a huge stone fireplace. You can hike trails or walk around in snowshoes, depending on the season you stop in. You can relax on big porches that overlook the Little Colorado River. And you can see wildlife: deer, antelope, skunks.

I absolutely adore living in a state where I can spend most days outdoors.

It's refreshing, enlivening, and a really wonderful way to connect with yourself. One of my favorite past-times involves walking or riding my bike alone on an Arizona trail. I'm not competitive. I'm pensive. So I use this time to think about things in general or to contemplate a challenge I'm having at work, or just to consider what my next move might be regarding whatever next project I might be working on or need to focus on in the months ahead. I'm almost always working on long-term projects. It's a rare thing for me to get fast turnaround jobs, though I do those as well. As a project-oriented person, I prefer the long-term task over the shorter ones. And I almost always need nature to help me iron out the details.

What's your relationship with nature?