I have this longing to go back to some of my childhood areas and just be. Summertime brings back these glorious memories for me. They play through my mind like old home movie clips and photo slide shows. I don’t have specific memories as much as I have pictures, places, visualizations, smells, sensations and feelings.
The warm sun. Breeze blowing through my hair. Climbing into trees and eating peaches still warm from the sun. Grabbing honeysuckle right off the vine. Throwing a blanket under a shade tree and simply marveling up at the branches above.
I could keep listing all the enchantments of my childhood, but I won’t.
What I’d like to capture here is that mystery, that wonder and simplicity in nature that you have as a child, but seem to lose once you’re an adult. Not only can that sense of mystery and wonder invoke whimsy, tranquility and fun, but also peace, contentedness and security.
As an adult, I am struggling to find these feelings, ideally on a daily basis. I can stroll through a park, read a book beneath a shade tree, or capture nature with a camera. All of these things are inexpensive activities, that can invoke that freedom and mystery from childhood. The feelings that surround you with the sense of nature’s majesty and beauty.
Amanda Bretz 