Ash Wednesday, not a particularly important day unless you are part of the Christian faith. While I may not be in the realm of “practicing” anything these days, I still respect their traditions, as long as someone doesn’t try to cram them down my throat.

For today however, we are going to talk about reconnecting with nature. Even when I would have classified myself as a Christian (Methodist to be exact) I always felt this awe inspiring power in nature. As a kid I would go fishing with my cousin. We never caught much in the ponds near our house but it was still fun. As I grew older I became more of an inside person. I blame technology and too many books, along with the Carolina heat in the summer.

Shortly after moving to Wisconsin I enrolled in a university with the intention of becoming a high school English and Theater teacher. Yeah, I wanted to be that teacher. The one that assigns the 2000 word creative writing exercises then covers the grammar and spelling mistakes with red ink and an encouraging word to just “Keep writing, the rest is all in the editing.”

During one of my assignments in Creative Writing 101, we were tasked with finding a quiet spot in nature to reflect. In the midst of a snowy winter, I went deep down the cross country skiing/hiking trails on campus and found a relatively clean downed tree to sit upon. I was far enough away from any roads to forget I was even in the city. No cars could reach me where I was. I sat on this log and breathed the crisp air until my fingers and toes went numb. It was glorious.

I highly recommend finding a special place to do this same exercise and write down your impressions and feelings from the experience. Just dress warmly if you are doing this in a snow covered forest like I did.

Take care my Gentle Readers. Until next time.