Hey You...Yeah, You...

I always wonder why I find myself alone in the wood - wandering around, enjoying unspoiled nature , looking at the insects, listen to the sounds of the bees and smell flowers ... and then I am grateful for being alone again when suddenly a jogger with a scent of sweat behind passes by or two women exchanging the latest chat without having any interest in their surroundings.. I live in a big city but on weekend I must be in the country...

I ask my colleagues what are they doing weekends ? Seldom you hear that they enjoy nature.. It is sad as we need more people who care for a nature unspoilt by human beings . Every year we lose a lot of trees here in our city - nobody cares . I could cry every time.

Cheers.

I for one have never stopped appreciating the smaller (actually quite bigger) things. People need to realize that there are quite literally miracles all around us. In something as seemingly mundane as a tree.

I agree 100%, awesome post!

These things are most important, especially right now as we are inundated with fear, hate and stress. We need to take some quiet moments of internal reflection.

For the most part, we know the game plan and we know the players. We know the deception at hand and how it is being manipulated but we still do not know ourselves. We need to look in the mirror with the same critical thinking and research skills that have uncovered these conspiracies.

When we see ourselves truly for the first time, it will be more eye opening and revelatory than any of these conspiracies have ever been....

Much Peace

reply to post by SonoftheSun


Couldn't have said it better! Star and flag!

I have off work this weekend. Well, actually had off yesterday, today, and tomorrow. My assistant manager texted me and asked me to come in and I denied. This weekend is for me. So far, I've been working out, spending time with family, friends, and in a bit going to climb a mountain by my house.

It's important to take time for yourself and enjoy what's around you, along with who is around you as well. Life is indeed short and yes, time does fly by....a bit too quickly to be honest.

Excellent topic OP... I realized last Friday that I was missing something when my buddy and I hiked out to a secluded piece of paradise... This video was recorded at 6:30am and I had just woke up. The night before was quite gusty and the 36 foot high tides were smashing the coast quite aggressively. In the video you can see the full moon in the sky. I'm going to have a hard time topping this serene adventure.



I work in IT and find that this is my only escape back to reality and out of the rat race. I'm heading back to this spot tomorrow :-)

S+F

That was beautifully written my friend. Its very true how easy it is to get caught up in this way way of life that we've created for ourselves. It's also true what they say, "the best things in life are free" nothing better than just laying in the grass on a hot summer day staring at the clouds. Makes you forget about all your worries in life, even if its just for a short period of time.

reply to post by butcherguy


My thoughts exactly. I don't have the time much anymore but at least once a year I try to go wild camping. It feels so good to just sit and take it all in. As for your friend that got borred, he/she probably hardly ever goes into the woods, right? When you're not acustomed ti it you don't really notice everything that's going on arround you. Every time I go back, the first day is kind of humdrum. Then night comes and I sit still by a small fire and everything comes alive. It's amazing. The rest of my stay I could just sit there and see everything just buzzing with life.

Yesterday actually.

I had been going through a very bad time and saw no way out of my situation.
Then a friend asked me to help him renovate his old farmhouse in the the Algarve, Portugal.

One day after a few days there I was sat in this wooded area and suddenly these thoughts came to me
- "Wow I feel so at peace and have no problems - everything is so clear now"
I promised myself to remember this and sure enough on my return to England I sorted out my problems.

Sorry I can not give details of the problems as they are too personal.

Sometimes all we need is the space and time to let nature do her magic by reminding us we are part of her

thanks for starting this thread!!! such a nic echange of pace, and those waterfalls are beautiful!!!!!!!really nice music too.....we forget the most simple things in life....

Oh I love your post! S&F my friend. I try to do this everyday. I guess I am lucky. My kiddos are happier in the dirt outside than inside doing anything. We have not done a lot of camping this year because of all the fire dangers but we have been busy. I don't have fantastic nature views but family... yes. Enjoying natures bounty yes!

I thought I would share a few pics.

60 heirloom garden tomatoes made 5 quarts of summer goodness this week! I have a ton more and tomorrow is salsa!


My youngest fishing at our "honey hole"! My oldest son caught his first fish... a 14 inch Rainbow Trout.


Camping out under the stars in our own yard! My kids love fire!


Me and my kiddos out in bear country. Really! A bear spotted here hours earlier according to the kind fishermen we ran into. No worries! Really. Love this place! By the way it is the only place in Montana I have seen fireflys! I was amazed!


Get outside and relax people. Enjoy!

Loves Restless

Originally posted by SonoftheSun

Wanna Talk About A Real Conspiracy?

==============================

When was the last time you stopped stressing, sat down, and truly enjoyed a sunset ?

When was the last time you stopped running, just to feel the soft wind on your skin ?

When was the last time you stopped arguing and just sat outside, only to feel the sun kiss your face ?

When was the last time you stopped calculating and went out to breathe the scent of nature ?

When was the last time, instead of planning where to spend, you actually spent...quality time with your loved ones ?

[color=gold]Do tell me...when was the last time you felt alive ??

==============================

Hello ATS Friends,

Isn’t that the biggest conspiracy of all times ??

How easily we forget that time flies by very, very fast.

Many of us do find that it even flies faster than ever before. It doesn’t. But we have traded what we feel is important for values that eat us alive. And so we run. While we become active members of our society, we tend to forget that our human nature is much more than that. We thrive for success and excellence. We do our best to make a superior living. We study hard, we work hard, we marry, we raise kids, we run here, we run there, we are ecstatic that we are doing so well...

Then, one day, we wake up, look into the mirror and wonder where all these white hair came from !! What happened?? How did it go so fast ??

You see, out of billions of people that have lived over a period of hundreds of thousands of years, we get lucky if we get to be eighty one day... That, my friends, is a wink of an eye...

Oh, we give ourselves good excuses to follow the established pattern... heck, everybody follows the stream and there is just no other choice. We become short of breath as we age but we keep running.

Don’t get me wrong. It is normal to study, normal to work, normal to plan. It is a joy to marry, to raise a family, to do the best we can, with what we have.

But NOT at the cost of everything else.

Our purpose here, in Life, is to live. To feel Life. To appreciate it. To be grateful for it. To realize that we have been given the greatest gift of all...which is Life.

Our human nature is to live and to love. We were BORN for that. But we forget...

So we start overdoing everything. We overwork, we overeat, we overtake many goals...we’re dead tired but hey...that’s life. No it isn’t.

Life is a Masterpiece ! The Greatest Creation of All ! An Amazing Fest ! Just try to remember...

Sometimes, we think we hate Life. But it isn’t Life we hate, when you really stop thinking about it. It’s the way we live that we hate. How we made choices that have led us to believe that Life is a waste. How we have put values on proprietorship of things instead of values on the beauty of Life itself. How we have learned to not enjoy it anymore, simply because we haven’t stopped here and there for a while and just see, hear, listen, feel to what Life has given us...for free...

To be has never been the equal synonym of to have.

And You Are.

It is said that God has created us to his image. The best image of God is out there. In the clouds, performing everchanging art. In the forests where life abounds. In the rivers and lakes where serenity speaks. In the wind that caresses your skin. In the sun that kisses you with warmth.

It’s all there. For us to remember...

So today...for a change...just try to remember...

It is your human heritage.

Cost nothing and is worth more than anything anyone else will ever sell you.

Just try...

Actually, I left work early today (Friday). I packed up some clothes and drove 2 1/2 hours to the beach. I'm about to go watch the sun set (it rises over the ocean and sets over a bay - this town is special). I just came back from the beach (to hotel) where all I did was sit my fat butt down in a chair, read a chapter of a book, and dip my toes in the sand.

What's sad about this? I haven't been able to do this for 6 years because I could not find a job in my field. I was forced to work two jobs and not make nearly what I was making. I am thankful to be back to work, hopeful Americans will come to their senses and vote for a change, and appreciating that I can take a trip like this. I realize I am simply lucky someone decided to pick my resume out of the thousands submitted. Too many people are not getting this chance. Sorry to digress, but it's hard to kick back even if you are working because in this economy it can change overnight.

Originally posted by butcherguy
It does take more than being out there in nature, I will tell you that. I say that because I have been out there with someone that got bored out in the woods. BORED.

I do not understand how anyone can get bored out in the woods with so many things to see, hear, feel and otherwise absorb.

The issue is today everyone is programmed to only want to hit a button and not ask how it works or even why. Other then the fact of just being able to sit and hit a button. They just want to own that button. When you stop asking your self how or why and just don't care. Yes it could be very boring. But if you start digging from under the surface you will find a lot more interesting things are going on then what you just thought. You just have to be willing/wanting. A computer its just a box that racks up my electric bill. But once you turn it on, Boy there are A lot of things you can learn and do. But you got to be willing to turn it on and use it. same rule apply's. you just got to be willing.

I love this

reply to post by jexmix


Hi Jexmix,

A mature teenager with a lot of common sense !!

Increasingly(for the past few years but especially now) i've been feeling very in tune with the universe and energy of everything and it makes me almost euphoric, perhaps others have been feeling this way lately? It feels like there are big things coming, good things.

Indeed !

Thank you for an awesome reply from a young one's perspective !

Well, this thread turned out so much better than what I anticipated !

The nice videos, the pics, the personal stories, the music...

It's just great ! Thank you for sharing and keep' em coming !! Everyone gains from them !

I love this thread and let me say Thanks, I love the outdoors, sunsets, trails, I need to get back to that. Thanks Son, S&F

reply to post by SonoftheSun


The last time I have felt alive is every morning I sit down on my bed, Indian-style, looking out the window as the sun as rises up out of the mountains and watching as that sun comes about, I contemplate what I need to do, then I close my eyes and look inside myself on what makes me me, I meditate, losing myself, finding myself, then losing myself again, all to find who I am. When I do, after a good hour of meditation, I get up, and find that it's easy to get up, I really feel lighter as if the world is pushing me away than trying to get my to bow down to it.

There is no perfect being at being you than you.

If people say, "I want you to do this, this, and this!" I just pity them and look at them and say in my mind, "They have no peace, at least give them a little bit, but no more." Sure, it's annoying, sure, it's stressful, but at least you made someone a little more at peace.

Life is a gift, and when people say "I hate you," don't get angry at them, just say, "I'm sorry to hear that." Holding grudges, getting angry, feeling depression, and all the negative things in life only mean that the person isn't living in the NOW.

What you say, SonoftheSun, is that living in the Now is the best thing ever, and I agree, but it comes with trails, you don't attract the ones who live in the Past or the Future, your despised by those who live there, and it's hard to not live there in order not to be in the crowd.

Thanks for the post, S&F.

yup I do all that at least 3 to 4 times a week.

usually after work while standing out on the porch watching the sky flay past.

people have terrible memories and forget far too quickly..

its a sad time we live in where even the magic of technology is relegated to the mundane.