nz What’s the hurry? Wake up, have a shower, get dressed, grab a snack from the fridge for breakfast, rush off to work, pop in and out of meetings, rush out at the end of the day, only to get home, make dinner, scarf it down, sit in front of the TV, go to bed and hope you wake up so you can do it all over again! <Phew>

Now imagine if you were leisurely walking a trail in the woods, taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of nature. You had nowhere to be and nothing was hectic. The only thing you had to worry about was maybe stepping in a puddle and getting your socks wet.

The world around us is an amazing place. Too often we get so used to it that we no longer see it. Consider taking some time out of your day to truly see what’s around you, often right under your nose. Here are a few things from the natural world that I find amazing and try to take in every chance I get.

northernlights

1. Northern lights. We are fortunate enough to live in the Northern hemisphere and at a latitude that allows us to see these wonders quite frequently. It never occurred to me just how special this natural phenomenon was until we were living in Australia. While there, a local radio station was holding a contest asking people what they most wanted to see in their life time and one of the callers said they wish they could see the Northern lights – something we saw at least a few times a month in the winter back home.

 

hoarfrost

2. Hoar frost. One of the things I find fascinating is how beautiful everything can be in winter. It’s not just dark, cold and miserable. There are days when you can be fortunate enough to wake up to a fresh snow fall, bright blue skies and hoar frost. It’s a pretty amazing sight when everything is covered in a delicate layer of frost.

bigflakes

3. HUGE snow flakes. My favorite type of snow is not the type you make snowmen out of or have snowball fights with but rather the big, slow moving, fluffy kind. Watching extra large flakes of snow sluggishly fall to the ground is really quite neat.

 

lightning

4. Lightning. I’m not a huge fan of electrical storms they scare me just a little, but I still find them really amazing and actually quite beautiful.

 

niagara

5. Waterfalls. Niagara falls has to be the most impressive waterfalls I’ve seen so far. I was shocked at the shear volume and power of the water as it flows over the edge and how quickly it settles once at the bottom. Watching a waterfall is a bit different to watching a slow moving stream but each beautiful in its own right.

 

rose

6. Flowers. Where we lived in Australia, it seemed everyone had a rose garden. One afternoon while out on a walk I thought of the old saying “take time to stop and smell the roses” and I did just that. I made a point, that one afternoon, of smelling every rose I came across that was leaning out of the yards over onto the sidewalk. It’s quite amazing how different they all are. Even when the look remarkably similar the smell can be so different. It was quite an experience. It does slow you down but I was able to really see each flower.

 

bluejay

7. Birds. I’ve never been a bird-watcher in the hobby sense of the word but last summer I took a special liking to a little blue jay that came by our place every morning. My son and I would put peanuts out for it in the morning and then we’d sit there and watch the little guy as he grabbed one and flew off into a nearby tree to eat it. They are actually quite interesting to watch.

I could go on about what an amazing place the world around us can be. It’s important that we take the time to not only look at what exists around us but to actually see it as well. Take time today to truly see something that perhaps you’ve walked by a thousand times before but never really noticed.

What do you find amazing about the world around you? Do you often take time to slow down and see it?

Photos courtesy of:

Northern lights: Nick Russill

Lightning: Eslie esq.

Niagara falls: Randy OHC

See also:

My Favorite Time of Day

10 Tips For A Successful Meditation

Don’t Worry, Be Happy!