Nature

When was the last time you appreciated nature? I would hate to see what Wordsworth would say about us today, where we prefer our florensce lights to sunlight. Where, for some of us, the closes we get to nature is on the Discovery channel.
When was the last time you went for a walk in the woods? Or simply read a book outside?
What many people don't know (and some don't care to find out) is the peace in one's soul that being in nature brings. For example, as most of you know, I run cross country (XC) for the school. I will tell you now, it case you don't know, there is a big difference between track and XC (hence the reason I cringe when someone says "Hey, don't you run track?").
With cross country, when we run our meets, we don't have a concert track to run on. We don't run on a road. We run on the dirt, the grass, sand, rocks, through the woods, and sometimes, huge puddels. For this very reason, I choose XC over track. I mean, running is great, but when you leave the road for the woods, it just brings a peace to me that I cannot explain. There is no exhast from cars to choke on (which with my lung issues, is a blessing in itself). No people staring at you, no one to judge, to make you think you are not good enough. It is just you pushing yourself to be better then yourself, and it is an amazing feeling. This feeling, that I can only find when I escape into nature.
Yes, I run into spider-webs (have you ever seen a banana spider?). I get strached up, muddy, bitten. However, it is truely worth it. So I channel you, to escape into the woods next time you get a chance. Read a book outside rather than in the library. Have a pinic! Do something outside for a change...