happy campers

"Soon, silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day, he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation. Tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding and trilling bolster his ego." -- Jean Arp

We went camping this weekend. I had a nice big entry typed up, but then my laptop died. I am borrowing Chris's computer to upload these photos, which hopefully will be worth the thousand words I had typed up.

One thing I thought a lot about this weekend, though, is why being outside means so much to me. Chris can't understand my need to be out, my longing for nature. His idea of relaxing is being at home connected to gadgets like cable t.v., wireless internet, CDs and DVDs.

While these things are nice, for me, being in nature in solitude soothes me. It's the only time I feel at home. I am more at home under the sky, stars and canopy of trees than I am in my own home. All the activities of modern living remove us from nature and from our connection to life. While the internet and television certainly enables us to connect with things not possible before in the blink of an eye, it's through my connection with nature that I truly feel alive. It might be running with my dogs, teaching my kids how to fish or make a fire, it might be hiking and showing my kids different mushrooms or leaves on trees or insects; but it is through these simple activities that I remember what's important, and what connects me and those I love to the universe.