After spending five years away from my grandparent's rustic cabin in the Northern Boundary Waters, I finally jumped out of the Jeep and ran down to the shoreline to see if anything had changed from what I remembered.
No. Nothing had changed. I immediately felt completely at home. It was like a huge piece of me was restored. I realized that as much as I have lived in the city and love what I do there, I will always have a strong pull to nature. Away from stress, deadlines, school, social networking, cell phones... normal life in general... I could finally relax and tune back in to what was around me - a skill that has become pretty rusty in many of us.
All of this was said simply, eloquently, and perfectly by American naturalist John Burroughs:
"I come to nature to be soothed and healed and have my senses put in tune once more."