Meet the Nature Walker
There are a few things you will learn about me as you peruse this site. For one, I am legally blind, which makes hiking less than enjoyable for me. I do enjoy nature, but I prefer a sidewalk under me. I do love lake side living, which I did for a couple months in Tennessee with my parents. Pool or lake swimming is preferable to me versus ocean swimming due to the stinging varieties of animals by the sea.
I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, so my back yard was the closest thing I had to nature, except going to Birch State Park and going to Tradewinds Park or Quiet Waters Park, or any other parks I went to. I loved Quiet Waters because of the lake and beach they had. My school would go there, and we would picnic. When I moved to North Carolina in 1999, my family's house was in the country and even had a pond, which my sister and brother canoed in sometimes. My mom even had a great garden. I eventually got married and moved into town, which I was happy to do because it meant I didn't have to catch a ride from my parents. Boone, NC, has plenty of nature to see, like the Greenway Trail, which is a sidewalk trough a beautiful area of trees, grass and a river passing through. At the bottom of the page, I have a view of the natural beauty that is around Boone. I tried to put a picture of Watauga Lake where my mom and dad live, but it was not a jpeg. I have been known to go down to the lake, whether on the dock or near it, and meditate.
As a non-driver, it's inconvenient to live in the country, but it is beautiful. If it were possible, I would transplant a lot like my mom and dad have into the city with a bus route. That would be utopia for me.
What Nature Is to Me
I am Christian, and therefore believe that God created the world, or at least got things rolling or evolution to start. I know what the Bible says, but with findings of fossils of dinosaurs, I can see how it would make you question. Nature is an interwoven community of animals who feed on plants and other animals. Nature even shows that He has a sense of humor, exemplified by the duck-billed platypus and the toucan, as you can see below. I know technically it's adaptation, but like I said. God helps things along.
Going somewhere with a lot of trees, maybe some water, feels to me like I am in God's house. Even when I wasn't Christian, I loved God, I just didn't have the Jesus piece of the spiritual puzzle in me. Being outside where you see green stretching below you and blue stretching above (even clouds are cool though), with birds and other animal sounds around, I can't help but feel relaxed and contemplative. When a breeze blows, it's like God is tapping me on the shoulder, saying hey. Ahhhh, what a blessing!
Qualden
This is the term I came up with for an activity our class did on Thursday. We had been asked to read essays from Walden by Henry David Thoreau on Tuesday, August 13, 2013. Thoreau secluded himself in his house on Walden Pond and delved into nature, and for five minutes we were asked to do the same on the AUM quad. The first thing I kept noticing and going back to was seeing how the clouds and leaves filtered the sun. The back light on the leaves was really beautiful, and combining that with the tickling of the breeze on my neck and playing with my hair made the experience that much more enjoyable. Despite being in the urban setting of a college campus, I could imagine myself in the middle of nowhere, just meditating on how much God loves me and I love Him in return. The breeze was like a gentle hug and made me feel wonderful.
I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, so my back yard was the closest thing I had to nature, except going to Birch State Park and going to Tradewinds Park or Quiet Waters Park, or any other parks I went to. I loved Quiet Waters because of the lake and beach they had. My school would go there, and we would picnic. When I moved to North Carolina in 1999, my family's house was in the country and even had a pond, which my sister and brother canoed in sometimes. My mom even had a great garden. I eventually got married and moved into town, which I was happy to do because it meant I didn't have to catch a ride from my parents. Boone, NC, has plenty of nature to see, like the Greenway Trail, which is a sidewalk trough a beautiful area of trees, grass and a river passing through. At the bottom of the page, I have a view of the natural beauty that is around Boone. I tried to put a picture of Watauga Lake where my mom and dad live, but it was not a jpeg. I have been known to go down to the lake, whether on the dock or near it, and meditate.
As a non-driver, it's inconvenient to live in the country, but it is beautiful. If it were possible, I would transplant a lot like my mom and dad have into the city with a bus route. That would be utopia for me.
What Nature Is to Me
I am Christian, and therefore believe that God created the world, or at least got things rolling or evolution to start. I know what the Bible says, but with findings of fossils of dinosaurs, I can see how it would make you question. Nature is an interwoven community of animals who feed on plants and other animals. Nature even shows that He has a sense of humor, exemplified by the duck-billed platypus and the toucan, as you can see below. I know technically it's adaptation, but like I said. God helps things along.
Going somewhere with a lot of trees, maybe some water, feels to me like I am in God's house. Even when I wasn't Christian, I loved God, I just didn't have the Jesus piece of the spiritual puzzle in me. Being outside where you see green stretching below you and blue stretching above (even clouds are cool though), with birds and other animal sounds around, I can't help but feel relaxed and contemplative. When a breeze blows, it's like God is tapping me on the shoulder, saying hey. Ahhhh, what a blessing!
Qualden
This is the term I came up with for an activity our class did on Thursday. We had been asked to read essays from Walden by Henry David Thoreau on Tuesday, August 13, 2013. Thoreau secluded himself in his house on Walden Pond and delved into nature, and for five minutes we were asked to do the same on the AUM quad. The first thing I kept noticing and going back to was seeing how the clouds and leaves filtered the sun. The back light on the leaves was really beautiful, and combining that with the tickling of the breeze on my neck and playing with my hair made the experience that much more enjoyable. Despite being in the urban setting of a college campus, I could imagine myself in the middle of nowhere, just meditating on how much God loves me and I love Him in return. The breeze was like a gentle hug and made me feel wonderful.