What a gift nature is to us.  After a week of breathing-in clear, cool air; being on, in, and near the water; and hiking Rhode Island’s beautiful shore line and wooded trails, all the built-up tension of being confined to air conditioned rooms just melted away–as did my allergy-induced asthma.

New England’s rocky, picturesque sea-scapes and wild, crashing waves are, at once, soothing and invigorating.  Our time- share is located on the spacious, private grounds of one of Newport’s century-old mansions and overlooks an inlet frequented by schooners and fishing boats.

Each evening, after dinner, my husband and I would wrap ourselves in a blanket, settle into adjoining Adirondack chairs, and soak in the silence–penetrated only by a fog-horn, waves lapping the rocks, or the occasional song of a night bird.

Years ago, I took Werner Earhardt’s “est” training in Manhattan.  One skill we all learned was to create a private mental sanctuary to which we could escape when we wanted to meditate, reflect, or just relax.  Mine was a rocky beach where I could climb onto a smooth ledge, smell the sea, feel its spray, and view the horizon.  Our Newport escape is similar to this and might be the reason I feel so centered and peaceful while there.

As I get older, I find myself thinking about what I’ll miss most about life on Earth when it comes time to make my transition into the realm of Spirit.  It always comes back to the same thing–Nature and the many non-human creatures that inhabit it.  People?  Not so much.

As I read the papers, watch the news, and struggle to understand what it is about human “nature” that is so adept at creating chaos out of order, disharmony out of harmony, and death out of life, it is difficult to wax nostalgic.  Confident that pure, unselfish, true love transcends physical existence, I know I will always be close to those with whom I’ve shared this.  And, to me, that’s all that really matters.

But nature and the animal kingdom–WOW!  Can you imagine the qualities of a Creator who gifted us with such a magnificent planet to act-out our lives upon? (Or, as Shakespeare would say, to “strut and fret” upon?)

Nature played an important role in the lives of each of the women I write about in my soon-to-be-released book, Ten Difficult Women: Their Impact and Legacy.  But I like Anne Frank’s take on things the best. When in confinement, hiding from the Nazi’s, she wrote about missing the outdoors more than anything.  If one “peered into the depth of nature,” she wrote, one would surely come to know both God and inner happiness.  Amen.