With Beauty, I Walk

I think I am addicted to being out in nature. Sometimes when I’m out hiking in a natural area, I feel almost drunk with joy. It is like my brain just fills with bubbles. I feel true love for the world around me, and myself.

Part of the joy is from the smell. It is the smell of the earth, all the decaying leaves and logs, the smells of coming rain or spring, and the smell of trees, especially pine, that makes me feel all wobbly inside. I’m guilty of pressing my nose up against a tree trunk just to get a good deep sniff. Research has shown that plants release compounds into the air that can affect our brains. Microbes in the earth also release scents as byproducts of organic compounds as they break down.

When I give myself time to stop worrying about my normal human troubles, I am always amazed by just how beautiful everything around me is. Tor example, there are so many colors in a turkey tail mushroom it is hard to imagine why a fungus would go to such lengths to build so many rings of pigment. At a valley overlook I notice the changing sweeps of tree leaf color and texture depending on elevation and aspect. Down in the valley the surprising white skeletons of sycamore mark the path of the river off into the distance. Brushing against my hands are the perfectly aligned seed capsules of gammagrass. Such perfect alignment may simply be efficiency to the plant, but it is very pleasing to me.

Part of the joy I derive is from walking. There is a meditation practice called walking meditation which best describes how my mind reacts to walking in a natural setting. My mind is at peace while my body is busy moving forward. I feel free to just experience joy, awe, and wonder at the beauty around me.

“In beauty, I walk,

With beauty before me, I walk,

With beauty behind me, I walk,

With beauty above me, I walk,

With beauty all around me, I walk,

With beauty within me, I walk,

It is finished in beauty.”

Excerpt from Yeibechai, Night Chant of the Navajos.