I am someone who has a need to travel. I need to escape my everyday life and recharge in different surroundings. I have a drive to explore the world and gain a new appreciation for other landscapes, lifestyles, and people. I know that I am not alone in saying that 2020 has knocked me around a little. Plenty of great things have happened this year but by and large, it is a year that I am ready to put behind me. I have had a few painful losses recently and as luck would have it, my family and I had plans to take a weekend escape to Payson, Arizona just when I needed it most. For anyone unfamiliar with this area, Payson is a small town immersed in high desert wilderness of Arizona. We rented a house that backed Tonto National Forest and I was able to spend the weekend seeing virtually no one and enjoy the solitude of nature. Coming from the desert region around Phoenix, the sights, smells, and sounds of the forest transported me away from my everyday life and gave me just the break I needed.
I spend plenty of time in my backyard and exploring the local riparian preserves. I am familiar with many of the bird calls and sounds that I hear each day but in the high desert, the sights and sounds very unique. So many birds that I have never seen before, like this adorable white-crowned sparrow. I have plenty of sparrows around my home but none that look like these do. I sat on the patio and watched them flutter around each other or sit puffed in the trees protecting themselves from the morning chill. Their small sounds broken by the cawing of large crows or the mew sound of spotted towhees. I could close my eyes and listen to the wind blow through the branches, rustling the leaves and feeling myself relax as the moments passed.
As we ventured to the back of the property we found ourselves a few steps from the National Forest boundary and able to walk a long path that ambled its way along the forest floor. Looking toward the mountains I could see nothing but soaring trees and distant mountains. I tried in vain to spot deer or elk though plenty of prints could be seen crisscrossing the path. Just as the case when I hike a rather empty trail around Phoenix, the deserted path allowed my mind to wander and concentrate on the sound of my shoes on the path, the birds, and the rustling of small animals. The fresh smell of the cool morning air and the silence of human activity was shocking at first. Have you ever been to a place that just felt too quiet until you became accustomed to the silence? That is how I feel each time I spend time more or less isolated in nature. The suburbs where I live are not loud by city standards but are deafening when compared to the solitude of nature.
Time and time again nature gives me exactly what I need to recharge and return to reality with newfound perspective and energy. It is difficult to concentrate on my troubles when birds are hopping along the ground looking for a snack or soaring above. I find it difficult to dwell on loss when I close my eyes and concentrate on the sound of the wind or flow of water. That slower pace and rhythm of nature has a way of soothing the soul and relaxing the body. Since returning home, I have taken just a few moments each day to sit in my yard and really try listening to the sounds of nature in my own backyard. Tuning out the traffic and sounds of daily life, I can catch a brief moment of that peace that only nature seems to be able to provide.
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