JOY OF NATURE: HOW TO LOOK AT NATURE

2017 0820 34  Joy of Nature: How to look at Nature

Allow the scene before you to take its effect -- savor its special character. And put aside for a while whatever is on your mind.

We all know people who are very much at home with nature, who seem to fall in with its rhythms as soon as they set foot outdoors. All of us can be like this -- capable of shedding the concerns of the workaday world. What it takes it concentration and practice.

When a beautiful vista stretches before us, what is there to interfere with the pleasure of its color and contour? Nothing, really, except our own unfamiliarity. We may feel a sense of wonder tinged with awe, and perhaps a sense of regret at spending so little of time doing this very thing.

Nature is not remote -- limited to parks and wilderness areas. It is abundant and readily available, as close as your own backyard. Nature is a year-round source of inspiration.

Think of the light that filters through the new leaves in spring, and the pungent smells of autumn. If your are dressed for it, a walk in the teeming rain can be strangely satisfying; perhaps it is return to the feeling of joy you had as a child, splashing through puddles.

A walk through a snow-covered woodland, where you are alone with the sound of the wind and the crunching of your own footsteps, may be a very personal pleasure. Such simple things extend your sense of the pervasiveness of nature.

There is infinite pleasure to be had in understanding the land and waters and the sky around you!

What is written above is all from "Reader's Digest JOY OF NATURE  How to observe and appreciate the great outdoors" [1977], such a wonderful book!  Just look at the ten attractive chapter headings: 1. How to Look at Nature  2. Trees and Forests  3. Mountains and Highlands  4. Sea and Shore  5. Grasslands and Meadows  6. Lakes and Rivers  7. Deserts and Arid Lands  8. Weather and Astronomy  9 Geology and Earth History and 10. Participation is the Key to Enjoyment, how revealing!  

I bought my copy of this great book along with "Reader's Digest THE COUNTRYSIDE DETECTIVE How to discover, observe and enjoy Briton's Wild Life" from Folsom CA GOODWILL Store in Jan 2007 for just $5! This store is the best among the many GOODWILL STORES that I have visited in the USA, especially in organization and classified collections of books on sale.  Don't miss making a visit to the place, if you get an opportunity!