Nature: A-Z Blogging Challenge

     If we read a biography of Friedrich Nietzsche we find a difficult life where inspiration came from spending time in nature.  As Nietzsche wrote in The Wanderer and His Shadow:

In many places in nature we discover ourselves again... How fortunate the one who can have the experience right here, in this constantly sunlit October air, in this happy and mischievous play of the breezes from morning till night, in this purest daylight and temperate coolness, in the totally graceful and genuine character of the hills, lakes, and forests of this high plateau... how fortunate the one who can say: There is surely much that is grander and more beautiful in nature, but this is intimately familiar to me, related by blood, and even more.

      We were incredibly blessed to live for five years in a home with a three tiered landscaped garden that we helped restore.   The peace of the space, resting with the lively discussions of the birds, the often visits by squirrels, rabbits, the neighbor's cats, and even deer was tremendously soothing and restorative to the soul.  While the space we live in now is much smaller, the garden development is underway but not finished. Yet we don't wait to enjoy the warmth that God's creation which lives all around us can provide.
      There's too much stress in the global complexities and organizational life not to take time to balance ourselves with the joy of the artistry that changes with the season.  Each in its own turn touching the phases of our own short but hopefully meaningful existence.
      Time to be still, and grateful for the astonishing diversity of life.  Breath deep, and know that you are breathing.