Nature Wins a Small Victory

I was in the highlands of North Carolina last week on a shoot along the Blue Ridge Parkway. As the day was coming to a close Tuesday, I passed a young man perhaps in his mid-20s whose image has stayed with me. Having parked his car along the side of the road, he was sitting on the hood looking out into the hills painted with color. No BlackBerry. No distractions. No nothing. Just sitting there, alone with his thoughts and soaking in the beauty of the landscape. How refreshing!

The lure of the computer screen and the smartphone are ubiquitous. If you really want to see something special, though, nothing compares to the natural world God created for us. Spend time with nature and you'll walk away rejuvinated and refreshed. The phone can't do that for you. Neither can Facebook or Twitter. (Not that there's anything wrong with technology...I depend on it for my work just as you probably do.)

"Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean."

~ John Muir