This afternoon I had to take a 2 hour drive through Iowa farm country, and the scenery was quite magnificent. For all of you who do not know, most of Iowa is covered in either soybean of corn fields which can make it all seem to look the same after a while. That was not what I discovered on this beautiful drive, but rather a landscape always unique from field to field. One of the most apparent things about the fields of Iowa during the winter is that they look cold, empty, and unforgiving.
While this may sound boring or monotonous it has its own beauty: silence and solitude. These are traits that so often are not present in our daily lives, as many of us are going about like busy bees from one thing to the next, always some one to see something to do. When we are not going about the chaos of our work and school lives, we are most often on electronic devices-connecting with our friends, idols, games, music, and occasionally family. While these things make our lives quite enjoyable, and most often entertaining they do not give us the real break that we truly need.
The solitude that these lonely fields showed me was almost a wake up call. I love the outdoors, and I try to get out into them as much as I can, however the winter weather makes it very hard for me to do just that. I have been constantly been engaged in family activities, things with friends, electronics, or work that I haven’t had the chance to get out into the woods like I love to do. All of my busy things combined with the cold temperatures have successfully kept me out of the little patches of wild that we have in my city in Iowa.
In saying this I know that I am not holding up to the standard that I hope of myself, but I tell you so that you can join with me in setting a goal to get outside this spring. Spring offers a whole lot of freedom and life. As the leaves and the grass grow a whole new bright color is added to the canvas of the earth, in stark contrast to the previously mentioned winter. I will get out and enjoy spring time when it eventually comes around. It is my hope that you will join me.
outdorrsguy 