PERSPECTIVE

The pause that refreshes

Dirt. Trees. Sky. Water. Critters.

We are fortunate to live where we do. Maybe that goes without saying, but it’s worth saying every now and then and to then reflect. So here I go…reflecting. Just watch me reflect. I’ll start my reflecting like this: “What is it,” I ask myself, “that makes me happy to wake up here every day?” Hmmmm, well, where to start.

First, it’s the people—family, friends, co-workers. And on a larger scale, it’s the general tone. People here seem generally happy, and it shows in our daily interactions with those we know and those we don’t as we go about our daily business.

Next, for me, is the incredible access we have to the natural world from little spaces along the river to world-class parks in our greater backyard. I just feel better when I’ve been out near or on a lake or river or on a trail through grasslands or the mountains.

It seems that we’re hard-wired to be refreshed by nature. Out there, we can find a quiet space. Out there, we can find exciting moments. Out there, we can connect with ourselves and with the web of existence of which we are a small, but important, part. Out there, we can wonder and wander. Out there, we must accept the weather and the challenge. Out there, we can get a sense of who we are without all the interference.

I have a Thoreau quote taped above my desk. It’s tiny and behind the leaves of a plant so I have to work to read it.

It says, “Many men go fishing all their lives, without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”

I find this to be true myself. I like to fly fish. Lakes or rivers, I don’t care. Sometimes I get caught up and actually think I’m there for the fishing, but I’m actually there, I believe for the connection to the natural world and the solitude and the moment where I am focused on what’s right in front of me and not distracted by discursive thoughts.

I find it much easier to let go of the worries of the day, with its challenges and maddening details, and just be there doing my thing out in the woods. I connect with the busy birds, the buzzing bees, the babbling brook and the buzzy bugs (OK, I got a little sucked into the alliteration thing.)

In any case, I encourage you to take a moment and lose yourself “out there.”

Scott

JULY 2022 • Volume 26, Issue 2

PUBLISHER Scott Titterington, (970)221-9210 scott.rmpublishing@gmail.com EDITOR Kristin Titterington, (970)221-9210 kristin.rmpublishing@gmail.com CREATIVE DIRECTOR Emily Zaynard emily.rmpublishing@gmail.com ADVERTISING SALES DIRECTOR Greg Hoffman, (970)689-6832 greg.rmpublishing@gmail.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Susan Harting susan.rmpublishing@gmail.com COVER PHOTO Cheri Schonfeld Courtesy of Open Sky Designs CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Theresa Baer, Lea Hanson, Lynn U. Nichols, Kim Sharpe

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