Nowhere

The passion and purity of country life amid such raw landscapes is both humbling and profound. An eternal whistle of wind through the trees is engulfed by a muffled silence in which the noises of ‘stillness’ resonate. With no traffic sounds or yelling neighbors’ voices to be heard, your spirit can soar as high as the bald eagles flying overhead. With nowhere to hide and no one to hide from, the serenity wraps your soul like a warm blanket.

Certainly some would be bored stiff after a couple of days for lack of interesting and exciting activities. “So what is there to do out there?” is a common query, but it’s not about stuff to do; it’s about appreciating the awesome power of ‘calm.’ Still, there’s something deeply emotional about sitting comfortably silent for hours on your own. Embracing LONELINESS lets you get to know yourself in a way that isn’t possible amid constant chaos. After all, the beauty of solitude is what drew Henry David Thoreau to Walden Pond and inspired him to write about the miracles he experienced there. There’s just you and nature, who asks only that you leave your baggage at the door when you cross the proverbial threshold.

Although the hush of ‘quiet’ can be deafening, it is also equalizing, especially if you close your eyes and really listen. The low, howl of a winter wind has a pitch unlike the buzz and hum of summer. Autumn’s crunchy leaves echoing through bare trees strike a different chord from the drone of a fresh, spring rain. These soul-stirring essences conspire with the spectacular colors of a sunrise or sunset leaving you feel drunk with wonder.

I’ll leave you to consider two of my favorite ‘Walden’ excerpts from Thoreau, whose writing is as intoxicating for me as nature itself:

“In proportion as he simplifies his life, the laws of the universe will appear less complex and solitude will not be solitude, nor poverty poverty, nor weakness weakness.”

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear…I wanted to live deep and suck all the marrow of life.”