Taking Your Time

How often do you just stop in your busy day to just take some time for discovery? I know as a child, I always had a curiosity. As I've share in previous blogs, I collected rocks -- the reason for my collection of rocks is that no matter where I've been when the hustle and bustle of life stops, I take time to discover. Most of the time as a child, money was tight and nature was my memory to take with me. As a child as well as in my adulthood, quite often, I'll be the one who will venture off by myself and look around and see what the area I'm exploring has to offer. No matter where you venture to -- there is a good chance there is a rock there. So in my discoveries, I would pick up stones and just look at their colors, their shapes and wonder to myself how they got to where I discovered them. I really liked when I discovered quartz -- when you look at quartz it has so many different layers within itself. It's exciting when you discover it in different shades of color. Quite often when I would find a stone, it would be hot from sitting in the sun or ice cold if I found it among a flowing ice cold creek in the mountains. Sometimes, I'd see just a portion of the stone and dig it out of where it landed its journey. I do the same process when I'm discovering shells that travel through waves or maybe landed in a group of rocks because something once inhabited it. But I always take my time at examining each one. I have several bowls of my shells and rocks, some still from childhood, sitting around my homes. Because of my spiritual views, I also imagine the process of how God created such intricate details in nature.

One of my favorite things I used to look forward to while walking home from elementary school for many years was to stop in front of a house that had several bushes of different color Lantana. During the Springtime there were these little skipper butterflies that landed on the Lantana. There were always more than twenty of these small butterflies landing and flying around these bushes. Originally, I would just be fascinated by watching them fly around, I would put my hand down near the blossoms and eventually they started landing on my little hand. Then I started to catch them, so I could have them walk on my arms and fingers. I discovered that I had to be very careful while handling them because their delicate powder would come off their wings and I noticed this wasn't a good thing for them. The joy they would bring me. Some of them would sit on my hand and they would roll their tongues out. I don't know if they had discovered moisture or what, but I was always mesmerized by them. Sometimes I would see the lady of the house peaking out her window and she would smile and wave. I guess she knew I wasn't there to cause the little butterflies any harm. Sometimes I would pick a flower to take with me when I finally left. I  think I would spend 30 minutes to an hour just enjoying the flowers and the butterflies.

The beaches and coves in Palos Verdes used to be one of my favorite places for discovery. I used to like to take the sand and have it fall through my fingers. I would observe that there were so many different colors to the sand grains. I was fascinated as an adult when I saw an article on magnified sand. It's absolutely beautiful the different textures and variety of broken stones, glass, shells and everything else sand contains. Before I even knew what exfoliation was, as a little girl, I used to wet the sand and just spread it all over my arms and legs and rub it into my skin, then I would go to the waves or in the tide pools and rinse it off. I just liked how it felt against my skin. I also do the same method of discovery with different colors of dirt. In Wyoming, they have black dirt that has what looks like glistening metals or glitter throughout. It's beautiful. I'm not a geologist, so I couldn't tell you exactly what made it black and with sparkles. I used to have bottles where I collected different colors and textures of dirt. I layered them according to different colors and just enjoyed the memories of where and when I collected them. As a treat, three of us ladies who were getting ready to retire from our jobs with the school district and our coworker went to a spa that had wet clay that we each spread over our bodies, it was reminiscent of my sand days. We laid in the sun and let it dry until it cracked and then we showered it off. I loved it and afterward my skin felt amazing.

I also am fascinated by trees. All the different shapes of leaves. Their differences in shapes, colors and heights. In one of the homes I live in, in the back near the creek there are several tall eucalyptus trees. First I love how their bark turns different colors as each layer peels back from the wind and weather. Then their long thin leaves, how they just hang and move with each gust of wind. But my favorite part is when the wind is stronger than usual and I can just watch them sway as if they are alive. It reminds me of Isaiah 55:12 -- "For you will go out with joy and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills will break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field will clap (their) hands." The trees behind my house are happy trees!! Have you ever seen those time lapse videos of trees and plants how they change how they grow in accordance to the sun or other nature elements? When at one time I owned over 50 plus plants throughout my home when I was in my early 20's, I really believed in the fact that they are alive. I used to talk to my plants as I watered them. I had the healthiest plants alive for so many years. Then I discovered I had a horrible allergy to mold spores and my doctor told me I could only have one plant in my entire house. So I proceeded to give each one away to family and friends. Oh how I mourned giving my Boston Fern away -- it was so huge and beautiful.

I shared in one of my last blogs how my Mom can grow such magnificent gardens. She is the one who gave me such a love for flowers and plants. I used to love to just go sit in the midst of her gardens and just enjoy the fragrances and beautiful flowers and shrubs that surrounded me. I would quite often pick the blossoms and examined how each one grew. Again, the beauty of creation was forefront in my mind.

I'm also fascinated by the different bodies of water that we have available to us throughout the United States. I can sit in front of a body of water for hours and just get locked into the beauty each one possesses. Although all bodies of water are my favorite places, one of the most beautiful sights I ever saw was Glacier National Park where the lake there is visible to the very bottom depths. You can see the bottom as clear as glass. All the different rocks and plants totally visible to the naked eye. However, it was freezing cold. I love how the ocean changes colors as you move up and down the coast. I've never been to Mexico where the water there is warm, blue and clear, but I've seen pictures. I also love ponds. I remember when my family visited Porterville and my cousin took us exploring into their back woods. One of my fondest memories was sitting in the swimming hole there and feeling the fish nibbling on my body. There were also tadpoles in the water. It was mirky but so full of life. My favorite sound of relaxation to this day is hearing waves pulling in and out on the ocean and when in the coves and when the waves hit the rocks. I also love the sounds of streams with river rock and a water fall. Oh those sounds are heaven to me. So many times, I've fallen asleep under a warm sun in the midst of those water sounds.

It's easy to let life's busyness consume us, but sometimes it is important to "take time to smell the flowers" and taking your time to do it!! I promise you, you will be amazed at what you will discover.