Adirondacks – Slow Down, Inspire, Create, & Just Be… Happy

While driving into work this morning I came to a giant pocket of fog. Usually this would just be “bleh, I can’t see well,” but instead, the sun was coming up behind me and beams were cutting through the trees and into the mist setting into a prismatic colorful glow.

I now know what it’s like to be held inside a rainbow. Between the brilliant orange, red, yellow and pinks of the leaves changing, and the rays refracting off the vapor if felt like I was in a protective bubble encapsulating the past – like an ADK Brigadoon.

“We must be somewhere over the rainbow…” I said to myself.

Not sure why The Wizard of Oz keeps popping into my head so much lately….maybe it’s the colors.

It was through these clouds, on my way to work, that I realized how incredibly magical the Adirondacks can be. Inspiration is so easy to come by up here. It is the perpetual muse.

Inspiration

Vincent van Gogh once said, “If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” The man might have been seeing the leaves and sky in swirls, but he was definitely moved by nature.

 “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” John Muir has some wonderful quotes about nature. Granted he was speaking about the west coast, but it still rings true for all nature.

With this energizing, motivation to let your creative juices flow comes happiness.

I couldn’t help but smile through this bubble of sepia-toned colors. Looking in my review mirror I could see jets of light shooting through the large white pines. THIS is the epitome of what true upstate New York is. It is what I picture every time the word “Adirondacks” is spoken. This God-like ray of sun through those pungently glorious pines. I can almost smell them as I reminisce and smile to myself.

And from someone who is known, maybe the most, for being unhappy, Sylvia Plath said, “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery – air, mountains, trees, people. I thought this is what it is to be happy.” Maybe if she had just traveled more out of the city she wouldn’t have stuffed her head into an oven.

Having struggled with anxiety and depression myself – well, the struggle never really ends, does it? It’s only controlled with some breakthrough moments – I can appreciate this “onrush” that nature brings. Yes, Sylvia, that IS what it is to be happy.

I must remember to stop my busy rush from home to work, from work to kid pick-ups, from pick-ups to errands and home again….and just breathe in this crisp, clean air and smile. Even if I don’t feel like smiling, just smile.

Slow Down

So remember to slow down. It, whatever it may be, will get done. Take in the view around you.

It may be the fall leaves peppering the mountains.

Maybe it’s the ocean that soothes and inspires you.

Maybe it’s the little potted fern that sits on you desk.

Whatever it is, take a moment to breathe, smile and know that you are amidst magic.

…And with that I leave you with one final quote.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” Sing it, Lao Tzu!