Nature

I had the opportunity to get out of town this weekend to enjoy the solitude of my favorite trout river in the mountains of North Carolina.  It’s a picturesque section of the Little River, near the town of Sparta, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The pristine waters, wild deer and beavers that inhabit the area make it a great retreat for a nature lover such as myself but it also holds a special place in my heart as it is the spot where my wife and I spent several anniversaries and was also the location where we renewed our wedding vows last year.

I forget how much I crave getting away from the hustle and bustle of life in the city…with its responsibilities and demands.  Just the babble of the water over the smooth stones and rustling of new leaves on the giant poplar trees.  It really didnt matter that I didnt catch a single trout…it was the ever presence of God in those mountains.

I came across a poem by Lord Byron that states my feelings more eloquently that I ever could…

” There is a pleasure in the pathless woods.  There is a rapture on the lonely shore.  There is a society where none intrudes.  By the deep sea and music in its roar.  I love not man the less by Nature more.  From these our interviews, in which I steal from all that I may be or have been before.  To mingle with the Universe, and feel what I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.”

Peace….