DO IT: Take a walk in the woods #1 control yourself
You know that feeling that it's too cold outside and you'd rather stay inside with a cup of tea on the couch with a blanket? During this time of the year in the Netherlands, I'd rather stay inside than go outside. Especially on a Sunday. Sundays used to be my lazy days. It's the day of the week to relax my mind and body, and to think about nothing! Well, after having a lot of Sundays ending in bed or on the couch watching movies or drama series all day, it was time to make a change!
When I was little, I often went to the woods with schooltrips, but when I got older I never had the need to just walk in the woods. My vision has changed now. Instead of being lazy and staying home, I want to do something useful with my Sunday! Today, my boyfriend and I decided to take a walk in the woods nearby our home. It was very cold, but the sun was shining bright and the sky was clear. "Perfect to take the camera with me and take some nice shots!", that is what I thought.
When arriving in the woods, I immediately stepped out of the car, opened the camera and took some shots. My mind was focusing on nature. At one moment I thought:"This is what I needed! Nature!" I am a spiritual person and to be honest, the past year has been a roller coaster to me. I'm in my graduation year and I was only focusing on the future, while I needed to focus on the present moment. This took a lot of energy from me and it actually blocked my way to achieve what I want to achieve! I had a lot of things going on in my mind and sometimes I thought:"I am so done with everything. I am going to leave this all and will do it later!". This behavior started to take control over me. Consequences were non disciplinary behavior, laziness, overthinking, migraine attacks, tiredness, not eating properly, no routine etcetera. Right now, I have had enough of not having control and power over myself. Actually, I did control myself, but in a negative way. To work against this negativity, I have to take action. I need to do something with my body, mind and spirit to get better, feel better, be better, eat better, think better! All three aspects need to be in balance in order to function right as a human being. Being around nature without any mobile phone, television or digital stuffs except for my camera to take pictures, made me feel like a kid again. FREE!
When you are a very busy person, have a lot of stress, think a lot about several things you have on your to-do-list, please stop for sec and take a moment for yourself. Take a walk in the woods, put your mobile phone away and just walk. Surround yourself with nature. A truly a moment to stop yourself from running through your mind. Think about the steps you take on the path in the woods, breathe in the fresh air, close your eyes, feel the warmth of the sun and get the positive mother earth energy. Let go of the bad, take the good. Having this energy, you will be able to get more control over yourself.
My bf and I were there for an hour. I always liked taking pictures but I never took the time to really take nice pictures with the camera. So, my bf and I took some shots of each other and by doing this, we also had some quality time. It inspired us to set goals related to photography and gave us the energy and motivation to do what we have to do! I really cannot wait to take a walk in the woods again. Probably, next Sunday :P. If not in the woods, it will be somewhere else!
Let me know what you think of my post and/or pictures :-) Would love to have some feedback from photographers on Steemit!
Great to see you both in this context!
You know what i mean :)
Cheers
Yes, bro! Thanks!!
Lovely story and gorgeous pictures. Every time I walk in the woods, I feel at peace, at home, one with nature. Upvoted and will follow.
Thank you very much! Appreciate it. Will follow you back!
I never believed it could make me feel at peace, but it does. I enjoyed today and definitely will make more time to spend in the woods!
When I was a little girl my dad would take me to the woods and educate me on all that Mother nature had to offer. I will treasure those visits for ever. Too bad where I live there aren't too many forests, other than the ones that are turned into parks. Enjoy!
That is awesome! But very sad to not have many forests around where you live. Where do you come from if I may ask?
Treasure all the beautiful moments that you have with your dad + loved ones! Here in the Netherlands, I never went to woods with my mom and dad. But when we go on holiday to Cambodia (where my parents come from), we always walk into the woods and dad is always the one who educates me about animals, what kind of tree it is, or we discover new things together. I miss those times! Thanks for reminding me the memories that I have with my dad :-)! You enjoy too!
I envy you that you live in the Netherlands. I live in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US. I've never been to your country other than the airport, and I LOVE the Schiphol airport. I did grow up in the mountains of Transylvania. It sounds like you have a relationship very similar to the one I had with my dad. Treasure every moment of it!
Well, now that I've googled where you live and used to grow up, I envy you! The Netherlands is a small country. I have friends who live in Amsterdam or near Amsterdam. I grew up and still live in Breda, it's like 1.5 hour driving from Schiphol Airport. I have foreign friends who came to visit the Netherlands and they were all like: WOOOOW! I love it over here! And I'm like.. I love it where you come from, please, let's switch! Haha. I wish I could grow up in the mountains too. Live in nature, meditate, discover things. In the Netherlands we only have one small mountain somewhere in the middle of the country. Never been there before. Though I love the city where I live, I wish I could live and be at places like where you come from! Luckily, we can choose to travel easily to places if we have enough means to do so. Anyway, nice to hear that we might have a similar relationship with our dads :-)! My dad is not a talker.. I mostly talk with my mom about daily stuff etc. but when it comes to the subjects nature, religions, earth or anything educational, you can never stop my dad from speaking! Haha.. Thanks again for reminding me that I should make more memories with him (also with my mom of course)!
When I was a kid I would spend hours playing in the woods everyday with friends, pets or just my imagination and as you said the feeling of being so free as been long lost, maybe one day steemit can help regain that freedom, upped
Hi @simonjay, very nice to read this! As a kid, I was the same. Hang around with friends, play hide and seek in the neighborhood, playing with sand. As long as I could play, I felt free like a bird. When I got older, I started to spend more time inside the house. Playing on my piano, reading, studying, drawing, watching tv. Still I'm very happy to being an eighties' kid. Nowadays, kid's freedom is playing on a tablet, mobile phone, laptop, watching kids stuff on youtube etcetera. It's very sad to see my own nieces and nephews growing up like that.
To be honest, writing also helps me having sort of freedom. I wrote about my walk in the woods. By writing and getting response, gives me more motivation to write more about my experiences with mother nature + freedom + other things I do in life. Hoping to inspire others with my posts!
Thank you for your message + vote! Have a nice day!
I unfortunately moved into a city type location and also as I got older stayed indoors more because the area was more dangerous. And I agree kids these days are clued to their phones chatting and txting 24/7. Yes I feel like these posts are some sort of art and freedom to express and I think you should continue as it brought it to my attention how much I miss being out with nature , hopefully one day steem can bring more freedom. thanks for the comment and up takecare.
Wow, it's very sad you had to stay indoors because of the dangerousness. Even though you do have the option to go and be outside, it is safer to stay inside to make sure you won't get harmed by others. To be honest, I am writing you now and keep thinking about you staying indoors because of the dangerous ares. I find it awful to not live as free as you want and as a human being should be living. I really understand you, but I've never lived in a dangerous area. Of course there were dangerous things that happened in my neighborhood, but compared to other 'real' dangerous areas in the world, I can say I'm lucky to live here. I don't know where exactly you live, but I hope you will find a way to spend more time with nature and go outside more! :-) Thank you too!!!
Lovely photos! Reading this brought back memories for me. My 'go to' place is anywhere by water - that's where I feel centered, rejuvenated and inspired the most. I used to walk on the beach and sit for hours by the water, writing and sometimes drawing or painting. I miss it so much - I'm disabled, and although I live in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, I'm unable to get around much anymore ... and it's an ache, a longing that nothing else can fill. Reading this, I'm determined to find someone that is willing to take me to where I can enjoy more of the outdoors and nature this year ... so thank you, for the inspiration and the memories.
Dear @jcedwards, thank you for your comment and reminding me to enjoy our nature. It feels good to read messages like yours, although sad to read that you are unable to get around much.. What kind of disability do you have? Isn't there any family members or friends that can take you out? I've just googled British Columbia, Canada.. WOW! Amazing pictures and amazing nature! I wish I could visit your place sometime! I really hope you will find someone who can take you out to enjoy the beauty of earth. If I was living there, I would love to take you out so you can enjoy outside! It hurts me reading that you aren't able to go somewhere that much. I really have hope for you in finding someone who is willing to take you out. I'm going to pray for you!!! Take care and you can always write me messages. It inspires and motivates me too!
Hi @bley47 and thank you so much for your reply. I live in the Okanagan (central area of BC), in Vernon, and we are in a valley surrounded by mountains and some very beautiful lakes. I have many health issues, but the ones that affect my mobility the most are a combination of spinal degeneration, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia - not good for trying to walk in my house, let alone outside. I have a motorized scooter, but it's winter here and there's a lot of snow; the scooter is useless in the winter, lol. I can walk a little with the cane, but only if the weather is nice and if I have someone to be with me, just in case I fall or something. We have a lady that comes twice a month to do housework (I live with my brother because of finances - I'm on disability and he's a Veteran) - and I think I will see if she would be willing to take me on some short outings this year. I get 'cabin fever' from having to stay in so much! Oh, and I not only upvoted you, I'm following you now as well! :)