Allow your surroundings to humble you...

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Sometimes you don't know how much you've needed something until its standing right there in front of you.

For the first time in almost 12 months, I was awoken by the sound of birds and the heat of the rising sun. As I got out of my tent, I took in a deep breath of fresh, clean forest air and gave myself a minute to appreciate the staggering beauty of my surroundings.

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I looked on as golden rays of sunshine which had begun to peak over the treeline turned the edge of the lake opposite from me into a giant silver lining. Just 5 minutes into my day and I already felt overwhelmed with appreciation for the beauty of the natural world around us.

Anxious to see more, I wondered into the forest behind me to explore more of this magical land. A small path leads me into a sea of green where massive trees blot out the sky and remind me of the awesome power of nature. Everything around me is alive, just like me.

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I ponder our relationship with nature... Why is it so easy to forget how fortunate we are to exist on a planet which is filled with such incredible natural diversity? We too were once creatures of the forest, we relied on mother nature for shelter, to fill our bellies with her food, and quench our thirst from her rivers.

Yet now, as we exist in this period of technological development and urbanization, we forget her tender kindness and abuse her precious resources for our own personal gain. Will she forgive us?

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Recently, I embarked on a short camping trip to a nearby provincial park. Separated both physically and technologically from my usual reality of busy city life, I had my first opportunity in quite a while to just appreciate the incredible natural diversity of the Canadian forests.

Yet, I was also filled with shame about how humanity has treated the nature from which we once came from. I was scared to think about what this beautiful place might look like in just 50 years.

Humanity's negative impact on nature is undeniable, yet we all continue in our ways hoping it won't be our generation who pays the ultimate price for our selfish un-sustainability. Is there any way we can change this impending reality?

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In my opinion, one of the few ways in which we can transform our collective attitudes towards nature is to encourage ourselves and our peers to spend more time in the outdoors. Whether its going for a walk in your local park, hiking through a nearby forest or taking a weekend camping trip to your resident national park, I truly believe that simply being surrounded by nature allows you to be humbled by its spectacular beauty.

All the relationships which we hold and cherish require effort to make them work. We meet up with friends, we take family vacations, and we go on dates with our lovers. These activities all help to strengthen their corresponding relationships, and make them even more enjoyable.

Why then should our relationship with nature be any different? If we seek to improve it, we need to give ourselves time to go out and appreciate it. After all, it could be gone sooner than we think if we do not change our ways!

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The fresh air, the sounds of the birds, the deers grazing nearby: These are all reminders that there is more to this world then the presence of human kind. We are all just one small part of the infinitely complex whole that is our natural world. Believe it or not, nature can and likely will once more exist without us, however, we would likely never exist without nature.

All words and images used in this post were created by me. Thank you for lending me your minds for a couple of minutes, do me the favor of leaving me your thoughts in the comments below.

Until next time,
Tristan