Awakened Senses

I had the opportunity to spend time at a little hunting camp remotely tucked away in the woods in Cuba, New York. The camp was very simple, a small, red painted wooden shack sitting on a hillside. I spent the weekend there in early winter, the snow covered the hillside, but small patches of brown leaves were still visible. The air was brisk, but it left a warm chill on my skin. The short trip opened up an awareness that I was searching for. This simple scene awakened all of my senses and sent me on a personal journey to find myself.

After an evening spent on getting settled in, I woke up to perk a cup of hot coffee in my old fashioned, out dated percolator. When the glass top was bubbling brown, I took a cup and went outside on the porch in nothing except an old tee shirt and a pair of beat up moccasins. Nature had painted a beautiful landscape for me to wake up to. The sun was peeking its way between the trees and reflecting like diamonds on the snow. I had such a “fast life”; I never really took the time to notice how beautiful the world can be. I was inspired by the beauty and simplicity of what I saw before me. I was comforted by it.

The camp was very secluded and out of the way from other people and the usual busy noise coming from traffic. I could hear birds chirping and almost thought for a moment, I could hear trees talking. It was so peaceful, listening intently to the crackling of the trees as they were thawing, leaves shifting in the wind, and the sounds of nature that emptied my head of all of my worries.

Although it was winter, the air was cold, but only enough to leave some goose bumps on my arms for a short while. I made my way off of the porch and into the snow. The snow was barely up to my ankles, just high enough for some of the snow to travel its way between my toes. The snow was clean and crisp. The woods were covered in diamond-like snowflakes and you could almost smell how fresh they were. It surely wasn’t like the polluted air that I was used to. I was able to take in deep breaths of air without the usual cough that shortly followed.

I scooped up a handful of snowflakes and was able to look at their great detail before they swiftly melted in my hand. It’s such a shame that some of the most beautiful gifts we have in our lives, live for only a moment of time. They are only here long enough for us to get a glimpse of them. We have to seize that moment, absorb it beauty, and let it live on in our memories.

I had been moving too fast and was being consumed by the social world. I was always trying to live up to expectations of other people, never really being happy and always unsatisfied. I was hateful and unappreciative. I never stopped to notice the good things that I have in my life that only required some of my attention. My perceptions on life blinded me from the simple, but powerful beauty of nature and gifts that we are given. I only needed to look.