My Comfort and Joy is Found in Nature

In November we talked about Gratitude and Thankfulness. We turned over every stone, looked in some unique places, and found what we were looking for. Even though the turkey carcass hasn’t even been picked clean, we are in the midst of the Christmas season. Shopping, “Bring a Dish to Pass”, cookies, decorations, lots of family. This month, we’re looking at Comfort & Joy, so we’re asking – What brings YOU comfort and joy? We’ll share ours and we hope you’ll share yours.

Listen to a little Comfort & Joy from the Barenaked Ladies:

Barenaked Ladies “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”

First let me preface that I’m not a crunchy-granola-tree-hugging type of woman. (And if you are, I mean no offense. It’s not a judgment, just adjectives.) Although I live in Colorado, and in the mountains no less, I sport no dread locks and I don’t pray to the fairies in the trees or flowers. I do, however, find that just stepping out into the fabulous world my husband and I live in, relaxes me and makes the things that bother me seem not so important. It’s a little hard to make mountains out of molehills when I see the size of the mountains and realize that what’s stuck in my craw is tiny in comparison. I find so much joy, so many relaxed breaths in the nature that surrounds me.

When we moved here almost a year ago, I asked somebody who had lived here her entire life if you ever get to the point where you take the mountains for granted. Surprisingly, she said yes. I found it kind of shocking. My biggest concern since moving here was that someday I was going to go careening down the side of a mountain as I’m driving and distracted while gawking at all God’s splendor.

The mountains have a different look every moment of the day. The changing faces are brought on with the fluctuation in light – dawn, midday, evening; by the weather – the changing of the seasons, snow, sun, clouds, rain; all for us to revel in the beauty and absorb the quite majesty.

With the mountains comes a variety of animals, most of which I have never seen excect in a zoo. We knew the elk owned the town, are protected, and pretty much give you the raspberry if you want them to move out of your way or more quickly then their ambling gate. I saw some of the elk days after we had moved in. The gate on the fenced part of our yard got caught in the wind and it came down. The next morning when I opened the shades in the bedroom to see what the weather was doing I realized we needed to fix the gate. ASAP.

I’m kind of like a kid in a candy store with all the wildlife here. I gape wide-eyed, camera in hand just like a tourist, to catch a picture of a bobcat in our yard trying to catch ground squirrels for breakfast. (He had no luck.) I talk to the mule deer when Wilson (my dog) and I go for a walk just to let them know they don’t need to stop eating….we’re just passing through. I sat bolt upright in bed one night, un-nerved at the sounds I was hearing almost directly under the bedroom window, waking my husband and asking him “what the f#@& is THAT?” It turned out to be a pack of howling coyotes. I analyze scat (better known as poop) when I don’t recognize it as elk, deer, coyote, dog or cat. And I’ve found that although bears do indeed shit in the woods, they also poop on my driveway.

I love seeing the deer and elk that wander within inches of my office window and will patiently pose as I snap pictures. I can’t believe the colors the first light of dawn reflects on the wispy clouds. I am in awe at the great expanse of land, the bluest skies I have ever seen, and that the lack of oxygen at this height makes you learn to breathe more deeply.

I find comfort and joy in the celebration and traditions of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and the New Year…those are givens. But I also find joy in the simple things: the animals and the rock solid strength of the mountains. I find comfort in a walk in clean mountain air, and drinking water that tastes like new-fallen snow.

I am thankful to experience the beauty of nature. I am thankful that we live in a postcard. I am thankful that I find comfort and joy in the world around me.