What is your happy place? Mine is a very special forest called Hitchcock Woods. There you are surrounded with a wide variety of flora and fauna. I think God wired me to find pleasure in His creation and in so doing I feel His presence. Because of schedules and time restraints, we are all too often pulled in different directions. Our lives become a non-stop whirlwind of "to-do" lists. These lists become our lives. Really? What are we constantly stiving for?
My recent jaunt in the woods took me to several of the favorite stops. First, to the nearby stables. I love their smells including everything in the pasture! The sounds of their greetings and the energy that abounds as they charge through the pasture with their tails swaying in the wind. But the ultimate is the sniffing of their warm coats. Aw... cowgirl cocaine! LOL
Then onto a hike through the forest. The forest provides dragonflies, spiders, turtles, snakes, birds, deer, raccoons, and even minks in our area. Besides the visuals, I drink deeply of the smells! Smells of pine trees, and pinecones, fresh dirt that has been tilled up from an armadillo or hunting dog. But the best yet is right after the rain. This is when the earth seems to be offering up a sweet sigh of relief from drinking in the cool winds and cold water drops from the summer showers. Aw... sweet smells and sounds.
What if in the big scheme of life, our pursuit was driven from the inside out? Not by what other people think, perceive, or require of us? Not driven by external demands. God only requires two things of us, as His highest creation. To love Him with all our heart, our soul, and mind. Then to love others as we love ourselves. It sounds so simplistic, but so freeing at the same time. Living life by God's love is pure and simple. Love God. Love people. End of story.
However, it's our own resistance to come under God's plan that hinders us from experiencing life by His design. This is where the conflicts begin and peace ends. We start striving and thinking how to fix problems in our family, society, and the universe without seeking God first on the matter. When you love God, you spend time with him. You get to hear His voice and then he will help you with all the problems that seem to surround us at times.
Finally, as the sun began to set and the shadows began to fall in the forest, I realized it was time to leave. My journey had been complete because my heart was full. I was at peace once again from communing with God in His beauty. So, I thank my heavenly Father, instead of mother nature. I like giving kudos to whom kudos are due! The forest never fails to provide its own service of environmental exhilaration! Recharge in God's creation. Love yourself enough to recharge, then you can love others as you love yourself, with the love of God!
Teacher, which is the greatest command in the law? Jesus replied. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:36-39 NIV
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