I remember a time when I was much more in touch with nature, when trees, leaves, bark, moss, rocks and water seemed to be part of my daily sensory experience. Near our isolated cabin, up the winding river, I would spend the greater part of the day photographing nature with macro and wide angle lenses, lay floating on the thick moss carpet of a small clearing, simply listening to the wind through the leaves, the tree trunks creaking and the occasional crow cawing at me, eager to reclaim its spot in the woods. The wood nymphs also assembled in these spaces.
Though there are trees, leaves, water and sand nearby, these are more tame and there are no familiar spirits to taunt me.
2 comments:
You have to either live in nature, or have a place to go, such as your old cabin, to have such a total exerience. You need the time and privacy to shed the pressures of city/daily life, to be away from interruptions.
I think that is why, when you visit my home on the lake, which is semi-isolated, we are able to completely submerge ourselves in our ideas and our work, experiencing both the outdoor and inner 'natures' of our being.
But the deepest experience of nature is probably alone, as you suggest, absorbing and feeling every element of your surroundings.
You're right, I do find that connectedness with nature when I return. It's also fun to collaborate with another willing soul in a creative project. However, I seem to need time alone to process the resulting artifacts, the pieces of time and space I have captured in the moment, either with camera or hand... especially when I am then far away from the source.
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