"Eclipse" by John Denver
"Serenity's a long time coming to me,
in fact, I don't believe that I know what it means."
It's hard to find peace in this day and age. It feels as though we're drowning ourselves in perpetual chaos. Anger has become the new pandemic, a free drug more addictive and easier to obtain than any available substance. Recreational outrage is being pedaled by every popular outlet with the dealers customizing your experience to keep you hooked and suffering while they reap the rewards.
The addicted barricade themselves indoors, isolated and disconnected, they drink more of the illuminated poison fueling their hatred for a collapsing world. These bunkers, complete with temperature control, filtered air, and electrical outlets are a world they can regulate. We've domesticated our lifestyles in the pursuit of privacy and comfort. Our days are spent surrounded by walls basking in artificial light as steel and concrete blot out the sun. The personal havens we've constructed are nothing more than sanctuaries for the imprisoned.
"I think it's kind of interesting the way things get to be,
the way the people work with their machines."
Beyond those fortress walls of civilization though lies an oasis. A distant world that legend refers to as nature. A vast wilderness that bore us and provided for us once upon a time. A paradise welcoming all visitors with treatments to cure every ailment. It's our true home, a land waiting to forgive, embrace, and rehabilitate us despite our neglect and distancing attempts.
While this world appears to be crumbling around us, Mother Nature lies waiting to humble us. Realizing the magnitude of this Earth will bring us back down to it and open our eyes to what truly matters. Stand atop a mountain and realize your significance. Rest deep in a forest and witness the silence. Lay beneath a sky filled with stars and contemplate the possibilities.
The infection caused by our current way of living is not incurable. Simply entering the natural realm is enough to shock your system, whether that's planting a garden or climbing a mountain. Our vision of the world has narrowed to the limits of our comfort zone and by finding nature we can push those limits, broaden our horizons, and begin to heal.
So return to it, embrace it, and submit to its healing powers. Rediscover serenity, seek the true meaning of peace, fill yourself with calm, and instill yourself with tranquility. Feel it wash over your body, coarse through your veins, and rush into your heart. Seek the love of nature, and carry it with you for it is the antidote to the disease plaguing our world. Let it eclipse the chaos as you chase a high as organic as the ferns in Oregon.
"There's a heavy smog between me and the mountains,
it's enough to make a grown man sit and cry.
It's enough to make you wonder,
it's enough to make the world roll up and die."
This photo needed a song that matched its serene stillness, something soft and mellow with a gentle hollowness to compliment the fog hanging in the canopy. John Denver had the sound and the words to fit the photograph and my message and yet the title sealed the deal, "Eclipse". This piece is bold, it's dark and moody. It'll grab your attention but there's enough depth that you end up lost in it. Whether you lose yourself for three seconds or three minutes I hope you savor the temporary escape and maybe even pursue your own adventure to put the world away for a little while.
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