A mere glimpse of the ocean through the trees changed my life.
It was 6 A.M. on a Saturday in July when I saw it. Typically, my mind is whirring with thoughts and anxieties, never ceasing or quieting, but for this, they went silent. The Bay Area of California was my childhood fantasy. Other girls wanted to be princesses; I wanted to watch the fog swim across the ocean from the Ferry Building, holding my grandpa's hand and inhaling the San Francisco air. It was all so unlike my home in suburban Utah.
This particular morning, we were driving to Muir Woods. The sun had just risen, and in the minivan, we were listening to The Beatle's White Album. We skimmed through a marshy field, a patch of forest, then dodged through the quaint, picturesque
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Me, Grandpa, Grandma, and my sister Julia. There's nothing to describe Muir Woods. It doesn't ask for reverence, it demands it, and then takes it, softly, gently and powerfully. I wanted to stay there forever. The groans and moans I'd uttered earlier as I was getting out of bed at 5:00 A.M. seemed obscenely …show more content…
As I received treatment for depression earlier in my High School career, I heard quite often that every day, I should make a list of what I'm grateful for. I'd heard this so often before I brushed it off like dirt of my shoulder. But I found myself doing it anyway, and finding comfort in it. On days when I felt more like dying than staying alive, I would drag myself out of bed, and try to go outside (even reaching the living room couch was a victory). And I would find them. Beautiful things came to me so much easier than they did when I was younger, even though I was depressed. The smell of rain, the blue-gray clouds on the purple mountains. The sound of my sister's laughter from inside, or the feeling of a cool breeze. I would take it all in, and walk back inside feeling, at the very least, like I could survive another day. During this time in my life, my second and third novels were
There is a serene moment when reading John Muir “A Windstorm in the forests,” that rushed through me. Which can only be described as a rush of emotions that one might face when returning home after traveling for so long. I feel that this response is so far harder to write than I could have imagined it to be because the forest Muir is describing within his story, within the Sierra Nevada is one that I grew up with. The same ones that I spent my summers and winter breaks at, I feel a slight struggle when trying to describe my response because I didn’t realize how much I miss all of that and how many of my memories are surrounded by that forest. Reading Muir story brought back the images of seeing stretches of land covered in an endless amount
Its practice has been seen to be efficacious in healing and improving the quality of life of many people. Whether in terms of enhancing mental health or preventing illness, gratitude is one of life’s vitalizing ingredients. Clinical trials indicate that the practice of gratitude can have dramatic and lasting positive effects on a person’s life. It can lower blood pressure, improve immune function, promote happiness and well being, and spur acts of helpfulness, generosity and cooperation (Emmons & Stern, 2013). Emmons and Stern (2013) from their experiments, assert that gratitude has one of the strongest links to mental health and life satisfaction in any personality trait, more so than even optimism hope or compassion. They maintain that people who experience gratitude can cope more effectively with everyday stress, show increased resilience in the face of trauma-induced stress, recover more quickly from illness, and enjoy more robust physical health.
The smell of the restaurants faded and the new, refreshing aroma of the sea salt in the air took over. The sun’s warmth on my skin and the constant breeze was a familiar feeling that I loved every single time we came to the beach. I remember the first time we came to the beach. I was only nine years old. The white sand amazed me because it looked like a wavy blanket of snow, but was misleading because it was scorching hot. The water shone green like an emerald, it was content. By this I mean that the waves were weak enough to stand through as they rushed over me. There was no sense of fear of being drug out to sea like a shipwrecked sailor. Knowing all this now I knew exactly how to approach the beach. Wear my sandals as long as I could and lay spread out my towel without hesitation. Then I’d jump in the water to coat myself in a moist protective layer before returning to my now slightly less hot towel. In the water it was a completely different world. While trying to avoid the occasional passing jellyfish, it was an experience of
When the day came to leave I was woken at the crack of dawn. I was keen to get to Blackpool as swiftly as possible, not only for the football that was ahead of us but also for the famous Pleasure Beach. The coach picked us up at around 8 am and in we crammed into an already full coach. The journey down was full of laughter and friendly joking from the parents. That day, it was particularly hot and inside the coach a number of people were becoming uncomfortable. I was unaffected by the warmth inside the coach, with my earphones in I relaxed and paid more attention to the vast countryside we were passing through. The vivid scenery blew me away, with colossal hills to calm rivers that we met on the journey.
Think of just 5 things to be genuinely thankful or grateful for and draw/write them on the hand or your list. Think about: Who loves you? Who are your friends? What are you proud of? What about your children, how do they light up your life? These are just a few things that we forget about that add so much value and joy to our lives. Can't think of 5? Look around you and think smaller and smaller until you can come up with 5 things.
The water was calm, like the morning; both were starting to get ready for the day ahead. The silent water signals that although rough times occurred previously, the new day was a new start for the world. As I went closer to the water, I heard the subtle lapping of the water against the small rocks on the shore. Every sign of nature signals a change in life; no matter how slight, a change is significant. We can learn a lot from nature: whatever happens in the natural world, change comes and starts a new occurrence. I gazed over the water to where the sky met the sea. The body of water seemed to be endless under the clear blue sky. The scope of nature shows endless possibilities. Nature impresses us with the brilliant colors of the sky, the leaves, the water. She keeps us all in our places and warns us when we are careless with her. After all the leaves have fallen from the trees, she will offer us the first snows of the year to coat the earth with a tranquil covering. That will only be after we have recognized the lessons of autumn, the gradual change from warm to cold, rain to snow, summer to winter.
Innocence and imagination can never be fully appreciated until that moment is relived again. John Tobias captures a specific summer of his life in “Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity.” Tobias depicts aspects of a memorable summer through his descriptions and sensory words of his writing. Tobias’ poem reflects the innocence and imagination only a child can create and appreciate. The summer was filled with the savoring taste of juicy watermelon and the sweet isolation from civilization. While Tobias looks back and relives that summer day, he relives his innocence. In a way, Tobias is warning many of us to hold onto the precious moments in our lives, and to fully appreciate our youth. Tobias’ writing style, descriptions, and poetic structure makes for an impactful poem. With the assistance of a friend named Felicity, who saved the watermelon that Tobias has come to treasure, Tobias captures the moment summer and tells his story to others through his poem. John Tobias’ John Tobias’ “Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle Received from a Friend Called Felicity” is a memoir of an unforgettable summer day that reiterates in ones’ mind, and reminds people of the innocence so easily forgotten.
During our stay, we fully immersed ourselves in all the nature Yosemite National Park and Mammoth Lakes had to offer, and I loved every bit of it. The beauty of these two places was breathtaking. Different landscapes and scenery compared to Hawaii but equally as beautiful. From the whispery multi-colored sunsets over the mountains in Mammoth Lakes; which somehow reminded me of the northern lights and how I would love to see that some day, to the beauty of the remaining snow that capped the tallest mountains, to the amazing and gigantic sequoia trees, the crystal clear picturesque Tenaya Lake, the natural columnar basalts known as Devils Postpile, and the many beautiful cascading waterfalls, just to name a few. It was an experience I’ll never forget but more than anything else, it was how I felt while witnessing all this natural beauty that left a lasting impression.
I jumped out of my bed, rushed to the window and took a very deep breath. The morning air was full of special fragrant. I could not understand that scent; just remember that it was quite special. Now I know that it was a scent of freedom. It seemed like I could see all the molecules that were dancing in the rays of the sun as a little cartoon bulbs: very light and happy.
Imagine a hot sunny day with sand covered toes and the smell, sound, and feel of the cool sea water from the Pacific Ocean coming to greet you. This is where I grew up in sunny California where palm trees sway in the breeze. This is where my journey began, but my life has been one of challenges with hard choices resulting in struggles, limitations, and set-backs.
My journey of the process started with the PPI “Expressing Gratitude”. The task instructed to write down five things one is thankful for, each day, for a week. Wooh, Froh & Gerahty (2010) defined gratitude as a habit of noticing and being aw...
...s thank you to others makes them incredibly happy. We also must express gratitude for ordinary things such as a beautiful blue sky during the daytime or sparkling stars at night. Get in the habit of finding at least 10 things to be grateful for each day to increase your happiness level.
Emotions are evoked with the aim to free persons from disturbing emotions. In instances of pity and fear persons tend to accumulate these feelings, which is harmful to the soul. In tragedy, however, whatever sufferings witnessed are not in our control and these emotions are easily released thereby relieve the excess in our souls. Tragedy transforms these distressing emotions into “calm of mind”, thus, the emotional appeal of poetry leads to pleasure. In addition, esthetic emotion in poetry translates to pleasure. The reader and the listener of the poem are prompted through figurative language to visualize what is in the real world. The vividness of the imaginary world that is experienced by the reader, poet and listener generates to a new spiritual knowledge or understanding which gives pleasure (Berlant, p.189). To add on, melancholy as an aesthetic emotion is a source of pleasure. Melancholy involves a variety of emotions; a yearning, sadness, feeling uplifted and even an elusive excitement. It has both pleasure and displeasure aspects. The displeasure aspect lies in the feeling of grief, fear of the unknown, loneliness and emptiness. The pleasurable aspect is entirely about reflecting on elaborate illusion and happy memories. Melancholy is therefore deliberately pursued by finding seclusion. In seclusion reflection is deepened which in turn prolongs the pleasure. Dylan in his poem reveals instances of melancholy Gale, Cengage Learning,
Today, with the stressful life style, literature also slows down our fast pace to teach us enjoy and reflect on the beauty around us. It is valuable that it can entertain society. Like pop music, television, movies and comics, they are one kind of literatures. Being able to entertaining people is one of the reasons that they become popular really fast. By studying literature, we can experience even greater delight and find them more fun and exciting. There was a time we read Gary Soto’s “Oranges” in class. Soto takes a few moments to describe the frosty setting of the night. He then smoothly put us in a loving frame of mind. The poem gives me delightful feeling in my heart by connecting the chilly weather with the warm glow of the speaker’s first love. I remembered that day when I took out an orange during lunch. It was a freezing day. It still reminds me of the summery feeling of the poem. I mentioned it to my friend as I peeled the orange. He laughed at me and said, “It’s just an orange.” He didn’t get the warmth and delight. On the contrary, it reminds me of the happiness of my first love and the pleasure I had for the speaker of
I have not had many meaningful moments with nature, even though I have many encounters with it. But the encounter that is the most prevalent in my mind is my vacation at Willow Lake, Minnesota. Here I had encounters with nature on the water, out bike riding, and watching a storm come in the distance.