Connecting with Nature - Feel the Peacefulness
Early this morning I ran the foothills - what a challenging and gorgeous adventure it was. As I am running a downhill race in August in the Black Hills of South Dakota, one of my commitments is to practice on hills.
The weather was cool - about 54 degrees - and the sun was coming up over the foothills. To me, they seem more like mountains, but everyone around here calls them foothills. The first half of the run was mostly uphill, and parts were rocky and steep. One wrong step and you can end up in the creek below but not before rolling over and into the bushes along the side of the path.
The farther I went into the hills, the wildflowers grew more abundant. Light blue, dark purple, white, yellow, red - you name it, all the colors were represented. The sound of the flowing water just below the path was welcoming to both me and the birds as I saw birds drinking in the creek. I stopped at irregular intervals to take in the surroundings (and because I needed to take a breath). The scenery was indeed breathtaking - both literally and figuratively speaking.
It is really easy to find places to connect with nature whether you are in a city, running along a river, or hiking in the foothills. You just have to take the time to find the right places. Connecting with nature can be as simple as noticing a bird, a tree, a flower in your own yard - you don’t have to be “in the wild.” So make time to find those connections, and you’ll discover a peace that you might not have felt in a long time.