Recently, I had the incredible pleasure of spending a month in a picturesque mountain town with my son. He was taking online classes this particular semester and to my delight decided to join me. My intention was to connect with nature and spend the month in a simple way. We did not have Internet or cable television. If we needed the Internet, we went to the local library.
The first few days, it was almost like a withdrawal. I had not realized how addicted I was to social media and constantly checking my emails. At night, how would we pass the time without TV and my Netflix shows? Guess what? We went back to the basics. At night, we would watch a rented movie (we did have a television) or read. My son’s favorite thing to do after dinner was to drive and watch the sunset over the mountains and then spend time gazing at the amazing night sky. He would watch the Milky Way in silence instead of his favorite television show.
We would keep up with the headlines in the news, but, did not spend lots of time dwelling over the often horrific events in the world. After a few days, we surrender to the silence and the peace. Actually, we spent time in the present moment, the “now”. As Eckhart Tolle so beautifully writes about, there is power in the now.
I enjoyed staring at the mountains, listening to the wind go through the aspen leaves, or listening to the sound of a stream going over rocks. During my daily walks, I would marvel at the butterflies or the wildflowers.
I felt closer to God in the silence of nature. Maybe you cannot spend a month in nature, but, you could spend a day or a few hours. It will do wonders to refresh and renew your soul. It will help you get back to the basics and be in the present moment. Try to spend a day away from the news or at least limit your time. See how it makes you feel!