For the next five minutes of your life (depending on how fast of a reader you are) I will take control of your imaginative processes and instill in your mind’s eye the epitome of natural beauty. This soul healing trip, if you will, is meant to remind those of that intricately woven bond between the human race and the natural world that has so easily been overlooked in the modern age. Some readers’ translation of the words into mental images may result in perspective changing epiphanies; for others, a deeper understanding of the already known world. Regardless of which, I ask you now to clear your mind and let the void be filled with my message:

I am six thousand miles away from my hometown in Southern California in a mountain range called the Dolomites.   In the vastness of the natural world I stand among the sculpted lands which took their slowly-altering form millenniums ago. My eyes behold an endless sea of rolling green with mighty rock formations that rise above. A powerful force has me pressed into the grass as my senses become overwhelmed by heaven-like sensations. One being the crisp high altitude breeze that greets me atop of the hill and refreshes my lungs, revealing to me what air truly is in its purest form; standstill drafts within a city cannot compare. Rushing with the breath of the Earth comes that addictive yet tranquil sound that the Earth makes when she is not being drowned out by our filled to the brim way of life: sweet songs of soaring birds as well as the blades of grass whistling as the wind howls through them, just to name a few. Trickling up from the soil are earthly auras that tell of a recent cascade of water from the sky; dew on my shoes also suggest the same. The soil hosts mountain blossoms of silvery white that sleep under the blanket of low clouds that have floated in to hover over the valley. Perfectly diluted are the rays of light that cut through the overcast sky. As I walk along a path at the crest of one of many foothills, the soles of my shoes become pages of a book upon which the pebbled ground writes. In the same manner, the influence on my soul that the material components and sensations have is everlasting.  

I make my way through the picturesque landscape while a young boy bundled up in a fur coat trails closely behind. This boy, who could not be more than five years old, has eyes that radiate with what seems like the hue of every ocean combined into one. There is an energy he gives off that I have only ever sensed in the divine presence that is manifested by Earthly wonders. In Italian he tells me stories he heard of travelers from long ago who passed through this very same terrain. He points out the graceful creatures that pass by, enjoying their existence out of captivity. We both encounter in these mystic lands that envelop us an ambiance of free spirit in the sense that no part of it is limited or constrained. From the greenery that grows beneath our feet to the magnificent precipices above, everything is perfectly unaligned. Contrasting with the ideal of perfection that we seem to believe, the laws of nature abide by no such concept. As we view them from a distance, the deer stride and leap in a regal nature with intricate antlers that symbolize their triumph within the animal kingdom. These majestic animals are completely naive to the outside world that I come from. They know nothing of the human evils that lie everywhere else. They know nothing of the stress and expectations that the daily life that the conventional member of society is too familiar with.

My youthful friend and I are now standing beside a spill of water that has been carving its way deeper into an immense valley since the beginning of time. Rushing against the banks and crashing into boulders, the current is a commanding force that never terminates. Like clockwork, it does not cease in its molding of the land with a dominating god-like power. Approaching the riverbank, a rickety rowboat awaits us and we jump in only to be swallowed by the intensity of water. Taking us where it commands, the Earth’s water does not relent and instead heaves the boat forward in jarring motions. Just as we are about to plummet over a towering fall of water, I blink my eyes and we are settled on a bed of grass. Under the canopy of heaven we lay; spread above our eyes is  the night sky. I think of all those who spend their midnight hours in the electronic lights of a city and never get to see the bright little glows and spheres of worlds far away. Mother nature’s complex design of the heavens above leaves me in awe for I see it as the way she illuminates her Earth. She makes sure that no creature, whether grand or miniature, can become lost in darkness. Twilight creatures play in their orchestras in the grass around us, adding to the pleasant vibrations which already exist. Among all this, one single animal can be heard for kilometers as he makes his presence known to the moon with a piercing howl. In the darkness my friend and I receive every note that is emitted into the nighttime air. Filled with serene chaos is this world’s sounds, twirling in the wind but retreating as soon as dawn surrenders the moon and reveals the watchful eye of the sun.

Morning light paints the hillsides with shades that highlight the verdant waves of terrain. Again visible, the land in which I am engulfed by now wears a covering of forests in the areas of lower altitude. These trees, whose trunks carry the resilient strength allowing them to support heavy amounts of snowfall or bend in the most forceful of windstorms, occupy the soil atop an endless rolling sea of hills. The boy who has accompanied me on my journey calls this entire  place his home. He was raised by mother nature herself and knows nothing more than this marvelous place that teems with life and liberty. This mass of land that seems to never end knows everything about him, as he knows all about it in return. As a place of love to all who spend time to admire it, it is wise with an independent mind that controls the course of all things. With its knowledge, the Earth teaches and corrects flaws that may appear in all aspects of living. One man walking through this infinite span has the ability to discover something much bigger than himself. Any preexisting difficulty or worry that one may have is removed and fades away like melting snow. Existing in nature is a great power that is bigger than any of us. It is unfathomable to the human mind, yet does amazing works for it. With the absence of malls, factories, road traffic, conflict, advertisements, and overall stress, the unbothered natural atmosphere is the mind’s utopia. One is free from worry and expectations that crowd daily experiences and is instead immersed before the presence of Earth’s blessings.

My glance is caught by a bird as it dives from a high perch and cuts through the air, soaring above the earth. As my attention was elsewhere, the little boy vanishes from this world without the slightest trace. Alone and left to my thoughts, I realize that the boy was more than what I observed him as. He possessed energy that exactly matched the energy of a flowing waterfall or solid mountain. My young friend expressed upon me a deeper understanding of how the forces of nature keep balances as well as cause havoc. In that moment, standing on the highest peak of the country, I knew that the boy was the human form of nature itself. His purpose in my life was to open my eyes to the natural strength and elegance that is possessed by Earth.

The very perception of what life is expected to be and the parameters by which we are “supposed” to live by is immediately changed upon interaction with these natural influences described earlier. I see a life unbound by rules and regulations of society as well as the existence of a great chasm between the roles of humans and the supreme power that is nature. That fact, I believe, is what makes it so comforting to the mind, body and soul to be immersed in the masterpiece of any natural setting. Contrary to common belief, the human race is not dominant on this planet. We are but small leaves of the grand oak, with the laws of nature as the ultimate giver and healer of all life that exists.