Relax

I used to go out to the local lake/national park near where I went to college. I would lay out at the beach, absorbing all the sunlight I could while my friend swam.

My favorite place to relax

It looks deserted in these pictures, but there were times that you couldn't find a parking spot, or even a spot to lay down on the beach because it was so full of college students.  Even then, it was still relaxing.  I like to think that the trees absorbed a lot of the sound, that the sand and the grass and all of the trees nearby absorbed a lot of the heat, that the breeze from the lake kept everything so cool.

The beach.

This was maybe a five minute drive from civilization (neighborhoods anyway), and right around the corner from the highway. It doesn't look like it. It looks like a lake in the middle of nowhere.  Surrounded by trees and a huge hiking area, this was the place that I went to relax and recharge my spiritual batteries.  I came to associate tanning at the water's edge with relaxation.

Aaaah.  I feel better just looking at this place!  It was great for cloud-gazing too.  There were the fluffiest clouds I'd ever seen right there!

When I moved away from my college town, I longed for a place like this, where I could go to relax, absorb some vitamin D, and forget my worries.

My apartment complex has a pool, so I thought that would be a great place to relax.

This pool gives me a headache.  It stresses me out. There are always so many people there that I feel like I'm on display.  Granted, the pool is much tinier than the lakeside, so everyone is crammed in on top of each other.  Sometimes they play incessantly annoying pop music over the speakers, which is not exactly relaxing to me (unless it's all Britney Spears, then I'm totally on board).  I usually go once a year before I remember why I don't like it and then opt to stay home instead.

But recently, I went out to one of the parks in town that I work at.  This park is not in the middle of nowhere, it's in the middle of a suburb.  You'd think that means that there are tons of people who visit, but really not many people know about it.  It looks desolate and lonely from the entrance, which is sandwiched between two houses, but once you walk down the path, you see the wetland spread before you and amazement settles in.

I love going to this wetland, except for the mosquitoes.  They tend to come out in droves (it is the perfect environment for them after all), but Wednesday, it was different.  A bright and sunny day, not humid in the least, and I went to the park.  I sat on the boardwalk path in the shade of a leafless, dead tree and watched the damselflies and dragonflies dance for about an hour.

The only shady spot to sit!

I felt ridiculously calm.  I wanted to run home, change into my bikini, slather on some sunscreen, grab a towel and come back out to lay in the sun and watch the bugs.  It felt so alike the beach that I used to visit that I could have cried.

Dragonfly on a lily pad

Even though there were occasional sounds of neighborhood kids yelling, and even though this swamp is normally infested with mosquitoes, I couldn't get over the unshakable joy that permeated me.  I was in the sunlight at the water's edge, with nature surrounding me.  I felt like I had come home after a long travel abroad.

The sounds of insects was better than pop music.  The wind rustled through the leaves.  A great Blue Heron crashed through and landed on a tree on the other side of the pond (which I have never seen and pretty much thought was the coolest part of the day).

Not the best picture, but he's in the tree, right where the leaves break the sky horizon.  You can barely see the S of his neck.

Is it any wonder that I think this place is better than any pool?

Obviously, this place is not for everyone.  If you dislike insects or nature, you would probably find this place stressful and gross.  But I encourage you to find what makes you happy.  Where are you best able to relax?  Perhaps, like me, you revel in nature.  Perhaps a public pool is totally your jam.  Maybe you have a pool of your own, or you like to ride horses, or play basketball, or run for ten miles.

The point of this post is to listen to yourself.  Find what relaxes you, what instills a sense of wonder into your being.  Take five minutes out of your day to put down your phone, step away from your computer, and immerse yourself in an environment that you can relax in.

The only moment that matters is right now.  Why spend it stressed out?

Damselfly say "RELAX!"