Is like …

Life is like a mountain …

Imposing, massive, comprised of many layers and unable to vanquished …

But, a mountain, like life itself

can be traversed and by virtue of this…

Those secrets can be laid bare for those who would dare to make sense of them.

A stream is like life …

In that there is no easy way to ford it other than moving gingerly and using our lessons as stepping stones to save us from plunging into the swirling depths.

Reaching the other side is a reward in and of itself.

But like life … Time spent marveling ones ingenuity is time wasted.

Pressing ahead is a stark contrast to the expense of staying stationary with the

certainty

of being overcome by the

actuality

of

eventuality.

Life is motion and moving in constant, concerted motion should be a given, as it always affords a better view.

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Keeping on the path

I trudge on…

In spite of obstacles arrayed in my path.

Knowing that a way will be made for me.

And… In return I receive peace and solace.

Saying it better than words can.

As sat here I fought the feeling of not wanting to leave the solace that I had found.

Solace always puts it together

Gunpowder Falls, Md

Sometimes hearing nothing helps you to hear exactly what is needed.

Gunpowder Falls, Md

Water has the properties to flush toxins out of the body as well as flushing the toxins out of the mind.

Is it easier said than done? Possibly, but often we opt not to make it a priority.

But isn’t sanity worth it or would it be too much like right?

Something for my headache

I entered uneasy with a dull throbbing pain  reverberating throughout my head and I began to walk. I was not naive to the fact that my walking was serving as a metaphor for the toxic build up from the week that was I found myself trying to escape from.

I soaked in the sights, sounds and smell to no avail… I heard a dull drone of cars in the distance, which served to increase the power of my headache and I continued on, like a man on a mission and decidedly so, because I am literally at my wits end.

As continued walking the fog and incessant throbbing in my head began to wane somewhat and I instinctively looked up to see the point of no return.

The area that nature forbade the intrusion of all things and elements foreign to her domain. The trees and her branches were welcoming and with a relative snap of the finger the headache was gone.

In lieu of the headache being gone a backlog of clarity descended upon me and washed away all that ailed me. So I found a spot in the middle of the stream where I sat, savored and fortified myself for whatever would see fit to obstruct my path in the coming week.

The mist and the cool sensation of the water

Mother Nature vs. Connectivity to the World at Large – Round 1

Call it a contrived overblown figment of my imagination, but I can say definitively that my communes with nature have had a mentally detoxifying effect on my psyche. I shudder to think of the alternative, had I not discovered the rejuvenating properties of being enveloped in the arms of Mother Nature. Would I be ensconced in a straitjacket; uncontrollably drooling from the side of my mouth, while rhythmically rocking myself back and forth or might I be an incessantly angry individual over the slights that the world routinely doles out?

Our uber-connected existence is a double edged sword, we are forced to engage, compelled to assimilate or otherwise we are left out in the cold. Seemingly, it is the price that we begrudgingly or unwillingly pay for merely existing in the 21^st century.

Many of us; myself included, are at the point of no return. The idea of tossing my Smartphone into the swirling tempest of the waters that I am entranced by has crossed my mind a number of times, but at what cost?

I am tethered to my Smartphone, dare I say that I am not as smart as I would like to think I am without its quad core processor at my disposal. Sadly, I can’t recall much of anything… From upcoming meetings with clients; phone numbers; email addresses for family members, let alone my statistics from my most recent workout.

The million dollar question is this… Are we better human beings for all of the efficiency that technology provides us or are we less human because of it? Dare I say that social media is an oxymoron? As it is the contention of many people that it makes us less social in many instances. We fix our gaze on the screen of our Smartphone’s more intimately than we do our fellow human beings, often we won’t even bother to acknowledge a person within our immediate radius, merely because it is too labor intensive to fire up our vocal cords.

Our technology has a duality in that it has become the proverbial link to our livelihood and in some respects, our identity.

But, as I ponder the answers to these questions and others, the sights, sounds, scent, touch and taste of Mother Nature wipes my mental slate clean… And I scuttle into the escape that is Nature and allow the lull of the water mercifully drown that which was weighing on me and everything is back in balance; at least for now.

rl

Walking away the worries of the world

Kilgore Falls which is located in Rocks State Park is in my humble opinion one of the most serene places in Maryland. If you don’t know what you’re looking for you won’t find it.

As I make my way towards the falls and catch sight of; it is here when I start to hear the sounds of the cascading falls. The feeling of pent up frustration from the travails of the day start to recede.

I plant myself at the base of the falls and soak in the solace of the water hitting the rocks, with my eyes closed I happily start to lose track of where I am. The water misting my face slowly brings me back to reality.

As I make my way to the top of falls, I find a spot of the rocks to decompress looking down at the valley below.

A quick look to my right shocks me back to reality and ends my commune with nature… A snake, not just one but two… This was the only picture that I got before I ensured that I was out of range and made my way back down to the land of machines.

Water giving me a piece or is it peace of mind?

The rejuvenating powers of water are often taken for granted, ignored or not even considered a factor. Just being in the presence of it has provided me with more clarity on many of the issues that I found myself grappling with at the time throughout my life.

These pictures feature some of the most serene dumping grounds for the problems that have saw fit to cross my path, only to be drowned in the depths, thankfully.

North Point Park

Rocks State Park

Gunpowder Falls – Sweathouse Area

Susquehanna Valley, a view of the Chesapeake

Being soothed by the streams in Gunpowder Falls

My travels down the neck of the Susquehanna

Falling in love with Falls State Park, again.

Kilgore Falls has to be one my favorite places in Maryland… The only thing that you hear are the sounds of the falls & your thoughts.

No matter how many times I come here, the excitement builds up as I make my way towards it, like it is my first time bearing witness to its beauty.

Looking at it directly is cleansing, the air flowing from the water has a cooling effect. Having a seat in front of the fall is a requirement.

The view to the right of the falls is majestic as well. I am always awestruck whenever I take in the sight.

Making my way up to the top of the falls, always leads me to take seat so I can soak it all in. It is a 19 foot free fall but it seems higher than that.

Watching the water make its way towards the falls…

Looking up and across from the top of the falls… Hearing nothing but, solace.

The view from above… I sit in the same spot & close my eyes, letting the problems of the day, week & month, melt away.

Sauntering with Nature…

The world that we live in is toxic at best. In order to have any semblance of sanity is to develop some type of mechanism to cleanse ourselves from that which which wear away at the very core of who we are.  Years ago I found that escape in nature, it is a dumping ground for the madness that is often my everyday existence.

In the absence of noise pollution and the sensory overload of the urban jungle I find peace…

At first glance you wouldn’t think that Baltimore’s Herring Run Park is polluted and that is recommended that people not come in contact with the water, but it is. Amazingly, this doesn’t take away from the solace that many parts of it holds.

Gunpowder Falls is one of the most beautiful places in Maryland. It never ceases to amaze me how each area is vastly different that the next. The beauty of how the silence envelopes you, is without equal.

Looking out at the Chesapeake from North Point State Park is nothing scoff at…

It was my hope that making the ascent up the step incline of Elk Neck State Park would have a payoff… It didn’t help that I left my water in the car.

Walking with the Chesapeake  Bay as my backdrop was like walking with an old friend…

This leg of the walk through Elk Neck was deceptively long… I started second guessing the wisdom of taking this on but, I wanted to see the lighthouse so I continued on.

Paydirt! Turkey Point Lighthouse! A slice of history, the lighthouse was built in 1833, sitting on a 100-foot high bluff overlooking the Chesapeake Bay.

 

 

Nothing like the Patapsco Valley.