I’m boosting my creative juices? During May, I am participating in David Suzuki’s 30 X 30 Nature Challenge: 30 Minutes in Nature over the next 30 days. #NatureIsCalling
See my post: A Fun Challenge That Could Make You a Better Writer
#30x30NatureChallenge
Why will this boost my creative juices? “A growing chorus of scientists and researchers agree: time spent in nature makes us happier, healthier and less stressed. It increases creativity and lowers risk of heart attacks. It even makes us nicer, more empathetic humans, with more meaningful relationships and increased community involvement.”
Nature and Ageing
When I was younger, I had limitless energy. I remember asking my husband to turn on the outside lights so I could continue gardening. The passion for placing hundreds of plants in flower beds surged on.
Now, I still have the passion, but the engine is getting old. The desire is still pushing me to do more but the physical demand has exceeded the warranty. Time to put this old horse out to pasture.
I remember seeing my mother go through the same painful realization. I don’t know who was more sad and frightened – her or me. I had to admit my mother’s time was coming to an end. As her senior years arrived, we watched her many flower beds and huge veggie garden return to nature.
I go to phone her, forgetting she has been gone for ten years. As I think about her last few years with us, I recall how frustrated she became as a stroke took away the last bit of meaningful mobility. One of her favorite sayings was, “Don’t go softly into that good night.” She didn’t. She hung onto every moment to be in nature.
Often, we would go for a drive into the country. On one such afternoon outing we spied a Pileated Woodpecker. It was gorgeous with the bright red crest. It was moments like that which kept her feeling alive. On our last trip into the mountains, she looked up to the peak of Roche Miette. “I want you to bring my ashes up there,” she said softly. Two months later, she suddenly passed away.
Her ashes were taken up Roche Miette the following year. My sister-in-law, Peggy Sue and her niece, Larissa, made the trip in the hot afternoon sun. It felt like the most perfect day. A butterfly followed us down the mountain. Mother was pleased.
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Romance Under Fire 