woods – The Life and Times of Ben Weinberg

Finding Your Personal Sanctuary in Modern Life

“With how hectic and chaotic modern life can be, it’s more important now than ever to find your own sanctuary where you can be at peace.”

With how hectic and chaotic modern life can be, it’s more important now than ever to find your own sanctuary where you can be at peace. It’s a place that you only know ideally but if not, it is a quiet place where you can be at ease. We all deal with a lot of stressors each day and it is key to find your own sanctuary where you can be yourself, be by yourself, and enjoy being at peace. It is increasingly hard to do these days when there are so many distractions, commitments, or other things to take care of in our day-to-day lives.

Still though, for one’s own mental health, it is more important now than ever to find your own place, secluded in nature or just somewhere you can call your own, public or private, where you can be free to relax and enjoy some peace. Each person’s sanctuary will look differently from another person’s, but it must be a place where you can rest easy, relax fully, and away from work, chores, or other commitments. You should be focused on this place being good for not only your mind and your body but your soul. It is a place that you can choose to be by yourself but also that you can let other people enjoy as well should you choose to.

When I think of these places of sanctuary, it can vary in terms of setting and background. I have always loved being near the sea or the ocean. It calms me down, lets me focus, or just lets me relax and be at ease. I can leave my earthly troubles for a while and just focus on the birds, the sound of the waves, and the sand beneath my feet. I can also think more clearly when I’m just looking at the water crashing down on the beach or to be watching a seal, dolphin, or birds in the distance. There’s something relaxing about a natural setting like the ocean that may not take my problems away but where I can take a break from them instead and realize also how insignificant and temporary they are. I also love to go in the ocean, to walk on the sand, or to play a sport there a bit like volleyball or some football.

If it’s not the ocean, I have discussed the beauty of a walk in the woods or a hiking trek through the mountains to ease one’s stress and provide some clarity through life’s stressors. If you have a park or a mountain, or even just some nature nearby, a place of sanctuary can be found there as well in nature. Being able to camp or to hike or just to walk in nature, preferably by yourself in a deserted area for a while can do a lot of good for mind, body, and soul.

A sanctuary is one that you decide for yourself, and it can range from a mountain pass, a walk through the flat woods, a serene beach by an ocean or the sea, or a local park at sunset where you’re the only one there. You can let people into your own sanctuary, or you can keep it private as it should be up to you. I do believe that we all need our own sanctuary away from people now and then.

It does not mean I am recommending being a social recluse, but we do need a place where we can rest, relax, and recharge to face our challenges again, whatever they may be. We need that alone time to ourselves in a public or private setting where we can truly think freely, feel different emotions, and let us get in touch with nature.

Now, if you have not decided on what your sanctuary is yet, do not be discouraged. You have time to figure out a place in the world where you like to go and is quiet for you to be free in. There are a lot of places to choose from but the key thing to keep in mind is that it is quiet, solitary, and where you can do some reflection. If you cannot find your sanctuary to call your own, it’s important to find a private room, a private garden, or just a private setting in general, where you can be by yourself for a while to give yourself time to relax and reflect amid your days of hustle and bustle.

Your own sanctuary is what you make of it. You must decide how it looks, where it is, and how often you go there. The main thing to take away from having a sanctuary is that wherever or whatever it is, you can call it your own and it is quiet enough where it provides some solitude and peace. Others can join you there, but they don’t have to if you don’t want them to. Make sure your sanctuary is never disturbed and that is always welcoming regardless of whatever may be going on in your life, both good and bad. A sanctuary is where we find true peace in this world, and I hope you’ll find your own one day.

Lake Tegernsee

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX710 HS

Location: Lake Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany

Walks In The Park

“When seeking solitude, there is no better place than nature.”

With the constant temptations of technology, the Internet, endless entertainment options, and other distractions, it is all too easy nowadays to get caught up in work, school, and other commitments without ever taking time for yourself. It’s been scientifically and medically proven that your body and your mind need some time away from your daily stressors. It doesn’t have to be a long amount of time for solitude away from your home, or your workplace but just enough minutes or hours where you can re-charge your energy and re-capture your focus. When it comes to seeking out solitude and alone time, our options these days are becoming increasingly limited.

Some people choose yoga classes while other folks enjoy long workouts at the gym. While these activities in particular are healthy and enjoyable, they do not provide true solitude and quietness. Meditation can clear your head and allow you to control your thoughts better but it is not an active form of peace and serenity. For myself, to enjoy solitude, quiet, and a place to think; nothing truly beats a simple walk in the park for an hour or two. Clearly, I am not the first person to advocate for the joys and benefits of being in nature.

Henry David Thoreau, considered to be “the father of nature writing”, wrote many books including the famous novel, Walden, a reflection on the simplicities of living among nature in his cabin near Walden Pond in rural Massachusetts. In addition, his friend and fellow writer Ralph Waldo Emerson helped found the Transcendentalist movement partly due to the independence and intellectual stimulation, which he received from his retreats into the world of nature.

Whether you’re walking, jogging, running, or hiking in the park, it is going to be highly beneficial to you and your state of mind. It’s okay if you do it with a friend or a family member but it’s even better to do it by yourself. Taking a walk in the park or in the local nature preserve will allow you to clarify your thoughts, experience some solitude, and enjoy the world around you.

When you heed my advice from this blog post and decide to go for a walk in the park, remember to take the following steps before you go through with this idea:

Leave the iPhone, iPad, Laptop, MP3 player, and any other modern technological device at home. I know it can be really tempting to check your Twitter account or listen to the new Action Bronson album, but when you’re taking a walk through the park, this course of action is highly inadvisable. You’re there to observe nature, to listen to the birds’ chirping, to hear the bees buzzing, and to see the flowers begin to bloom in the springtime sunshine. If you wanted to be with your technological gadgets, the park is not the place to do that.
In the park or place of nature you go to, remember to find a part of the park that doesn’t have many or any people around. I write this piece of advice not to encourage you to be anti-social but to embrace a little bit of solitude in your life. A walk in the park will help you to focus your thoughts and clarify what you’re going through in your life. It’s refreshing and natural for people to be truly alone from time to time. This doesn’t mean you’re lonely and need someone to hang out with but that you’re using this walk or run in the park to concentrate and focus on the simple act of being in nature. Our distant ancestors did fine for themselves when they were on their own to hunt for animals or to gather food for their tribe. I think that you can survive on your own for an hour or two without needing any assistance or companionship.
When you’re on your walk or run in the park, it is important to go off the beaten path. There are set pathways and trails that you can follow in nature but it’s very enjoyable to go outside of your comfort zone instead by trying out new paths or walkaways that you have yet to discover. If there are certain areas of the park or preserve that you haven’t been to yet, go there! If there’s a massive hill or body of water in your path, don’t be afraid to hike over it or swim through it. The best adventures that a person can have are by taking the road not yet discovered or taken and that is true for other facets of life. Try to see and be in the new areas of the park that you haven’t been to yet. I promise that you won’t regret it later. You will be glad that you expanded your perception that you have of the natural park or preserve that you’re walking or running through.
Last but not least, please remember to take it all in. Spend some time just to admire the beauty of the sights that lie before you. If its’ a towering waterfall, a captivating sunset, or a stunning hillside view, remember to stop and just be present in the moment. It will be so quiet that you can hear the beating of your own heart and the sound of your own breath. You’re apart of nature just as nature is apart of you. As much as we try to avoid nature and natural living today, it’s still apart of whom we are as human beings. Nothing will change that and its’ apart of our nature since the early days of the hunter-gatherers. You only have one life to live and the more time you spend in natural settings, the better off you’ll be.

In conclusion, instead of that Sunday afternoon you spend at the bar watching your favorite sports team or at home catching up on the latest Netflix series, why not go to your local park instead? Do some walking or some jogging and eventually rest your legs to sit down at the nearest park bench. Take in the sights, sounds, and even the smells to remind yourself that there is more to life than just work or school. You’re apart of this world and the world is apart of you.

A Walk In The Woods

“I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”

-Robert Frost (1874-1963)