Moving very fast, driven by the wind or appearing not to be moving at all – clouds of different shapes and colors pass by over our heads. When do we take the time to stand still, tilt our head back and look up to marvel at the wonders of nature?
attention
We capture foreign places in photographs but rarely appreciate what is around our home.
After I have been there, I now see the rainforests of the Amazon, the canyons of the USA and the lakes of Sweden in the landscapes around me. It’s not so different.
conservation
When the beauty of landscapes encourages others to explore nature themselves, can that be a bad thing? By visiting new places, we learn about the environment and our eyes are opened to the topic of conservation.
However, a place advertised by travel agencies, blogs and Instagrammers has to deal with some consequences. Crowded with people all taking the same paths, leaving waste and disturbing the wildlife, the place quickly changes. The forest is marked by beaten paths, animals abandon their homes. Is it still the same place?
questions
Our houses are filled with things we use and things we already forgot we had. Our calendars are scheduled with events and meetings, with vacations and weekend trips. Our minds are occupied with thoughts about work, dreams and the future.
Yet we still buy more, fly away as often as we can and occupy ourselves because we feel like we’re dependent on those things in our lives.
But what if it would actually make us more content to let go of what we think we need? If we would pay attention to what brings us joy? If we stopped looking for what we don’t have but at what we have?
Can we travel more mindful? Consume and produce less things? Control our waste? Minimize our belongings? Act with intention? Is that what it takes to preserve nature? Would it make us happy?
The answer is written in the clouds.
travel
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.“ Mark Twain
Traveling to foreign countries and getting to know the world is enriching and eye-opening. We come to understand nature and life itself, the people, their cultures and ourselves better.
The traveler that visits different places learns to value all landscapes and cultures and will see his home in a new light and therefore more clearly in comparison of the others.
Where do I have to go to find this? It takes a certain distance but how far I’m going isn’t what determines the experience.
Can 2 hours be enough?