It is April, and regardless of the depressing number on the thermometer, that means it's increasingly the season of papers, projects, and exams. It seems like life has turned into a cycle of saying "I just need to get through this week" over and over again-- every. Single. Week. For every project that finally gets finished, there's another three (or so it feels) looming on the horizon. And, of course, the reading schedule isn't really letting up any, no matter where you turn.
Long story short, I'm exhausted, and the fact that the weather makes me want to just burrow under a mountain of fluffy blankets and sleep for forty-eight hours straight doesn't really help either.
But I said I wouldn't complain about the weather, so I digress.
You might be wondering how this post connects to nature, and the short answer is that it doesn't. The long answer is that it connects to nature through the fact that it does not connect to nature. What I'm saying is that I, the self-proclaimed naturally-observant student, have not been too terribly naturally observant recently. And boy, am I feeling the effects. I've been more stressed, sleepier, and definitely more under the seven-letter-word-that-starts-with-W recently. A simple lack of taking the time to look around outside, breathe some fresh air, and exist as something connected to the earth rather than just taking up space on it (due to not really having the time to do so) has definitely left a starved hole somewhere inside some part of me. And if it's this bad for me, as a resident of a smaller city in Iowa, how bad is it, I wonder, for those who spend their whole lives surrounded by concrete, neon, and smoggy buses? Just a few weeks spent without sky-watching, stargazing, plant-appreciating, or squirrel-observing has left some part of my soul hungry for something it just isn't getting within the world of classrooms, meeting rooms, and dorms. At least, if I can manage to squeeze the time in, there is still nature waiting for me to come look at it (even if much of it is still brown). For those in bigger cities, that often isn't an option (despite the fact that spending time in nature increases work productivity).
Hopefully, I'll be able to catch a breath, relax in some warm sunshine, and catch up on observing the nature around me someday soon. But even as I'm spending a few minutes being sorry for myself and my nature-starvation, I find myself mourning those who have it far worse than I do. Maybe I'm not so much nature-starved as just nature-hungry. Suddenly, classrooms with trees outside the window don't look half so bad after all.
This week's challenge is to consciously take a moment to be naturally observant in any way, shape, or form. Think of it as a nature-savoring free-for-all. Watch a bird, chase a squirrel, dance in a chilly rainstorm, or cheerfully, loudly caw back at a crow in front of a high-school tour group exploring your college campus (there is absolutely no reason why that last example is so specific; I can assure you). Above all else, stay observant, fellow observers. Feed that piece of you that still longs to be connected to the earth. Don't let it starve.
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