The Importance Of Being...

"Wherever you go, there you are"

I came upon my current sit spot the other day while exploring a narrow path following a small ridge-line near where I'm living at the moment. It's been a short while since I've taken the time for this, and I've  been feeling the lack of this set aside time. As soon as I walked along the path and saw the bowl shaped depression with this one boulder halfway up the slope, i knew I had found a special place for myself. The kind of place where just being there sets you apart from all the usual in life. A place that calls upon you to sit quietly, listen to the birds, watch the trees in the wind, notice the wildflowers growing all around. A place where you can just be.

"All you need is to keep quietly alert, enquiring into the real nature of yourself" 

- Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

I think its important to be able to take time to calm the mind and find peace within any lifestyle. It's important to always notice the beauty in all that is around you. For myself, a sit spot is a way of keeping present, wherever I am in the world. 

This is one place, where I find extraordinary beauty, at which I can get away from the usual,  sit, and watch the world around me.

A Little Walk Through The Woods.

I had two days off in a row this week, and took the time to go on a longish walk and overnight trip to a nearby waterfall. The walk ended up being very very buggy, but the reward of a beautiful camp spot at the end was worth every mosquito and deerfly bite. The waterfall was beautiful, and even better, bug free. I camped the night in my new Hennessy Hammock (tent meets hammock), and walked back the next day.

I took pictures along the way to share the journey with anyone interested...

The path started out on a road, but slowly got rougher and nicer to hike.

 Plenty of swampy areas, a mosquito's paradise. Eventually the trail met up with a somewhat swift river, and the bugs lessened.

The Cardinal Flower (Lobelia Cardinalis) was in bloom at the riverside. These beauties told me I'd found my campsite for the night.

And this is where the roar was coming from. Around the corner and to the waterfall. 

If you look closely at the bottom left of the picture you can see a Great Blue Heron. He was kind enough to share his home with me for the night. I spent the evening watching him fish at the base of the falls.

Top of the Falls!

The path at this point is a well maintained Portage, with a fire-pit /campsite at the top.