Being in nature for reasons of blog writing and not out of exploration and discovery (leisurely), has forced me to focus on different aspects in nature. These blogs forced me to realize it's not about simply observing, but about assessing these observations: take what I know and what to learn and write something lyrical about it. Nature has so much rhythm and lyricism to begin with, so how can I make nature proud through my own interpretations of its song? Previously, I would continue walking on if nothing strictly exciting was happening (unless I was there for meditative, not explorative reasons). However, the blogs encouraged me to stick around, wait, and if nothing happened, know that something was happening, it was just a matter of how I interpreted the events, however elusive they were. This type of interaction gave me the authority to write in ways I couldn't have imagined.
Even during winter there was something to be observed and written about. I love the simplicity of winter. And the blogs were here for me when warm days would roll in, sun shining, and the air a little thicker, a little warmer. The blogs separately gave me something to write about in nature, but collectively they created an entire scope for me to go back and look at my interactions.
Love your distinction between observing and assessing! Nice
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the time we expect "nature" to be that way: big, awe-inspiring, and exciting. But finding ways to notice the less flashy, but sometimes more significant, details is a useful skill to learn (what I hoped for in these blogs).
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