Day 9 - Relaxing Naturally

Hi there, welcome to day 9 of your journey to relaxation. One of my favorite things about where I live is that there are so many things to do outdoors. I live in Seattle. For those of you that don’t know about the geography of Washington State, I’m going to give you a crash course in it.

If you drive an hour and a half in any direction, you can change complete ecosystems. Seattle is in a temperate zone. To the east, we have a desert. To the southwest, we have a rainforest. We have alpine mountains in the Cascades and the Pacific Ocean only about 2 hours away. We’ve got the San Juan Islands with wildlife you don’t find here on the mainland. It’s truly a wondrous place to live. And no, it doesn’t rain ALL the time. That’s just a vicious rumor we spread to keep this place to ourselves. ☺

Why am I talking geography? You may be thinking that this sounds like school are wondering when the relaxation starts. For me, it already has. I love nature. I always have. When I’m stressed, I can go for a walk and take deep breaths or air that isn’t as polluted as you may find in other places. A plus about the rain: it cleans the air so you don’t have that haze that you may find in others cities, provided you can see it between the skyscrapers.

Some of my favorites haunts? I work only about 4 blocks from the piers in Seattle. When work is getting a bit much, I take my lunch on the water. I’m able to watch the ferries (our ferry system is the largest in the country and is actually part of our highway system) as they carry people between Seattle and the Olympic Peninsula. You know that smell when you go to the beach? That one that smells kind of like fish? The one that some people run from and say stinks? To me, that smell is life. It’s the natural cycle of things returning to the earth.

When I was in high school, I used to ride the ferries around the San Juans all day. You haven’t truly experienced joy until you’ve spent the day on the water and spotted seals, Orcas, and otters right next to the boat playing in the water.

Ok, you hate the water. I’ll forgive that and give you other options. How about the mountains? On Mount Rainer, you can hike year round. Mount Baker has some of the best skiing around. Remember that walk I mentioned earlier? Imagine doing it while surrounded by wildflowers and hearing the birds chatter. Have you ever seen a fully mature bald eagle up close? Or an endangered Peregrine Falcon. There’s a meadow that I love up near Paradise, when I’m really needing a break from everything. I go up there and sprawl in the grass with a book that requires no thought and cheesy 80’s music on my iPod.

I have some friends that love to snow shoe on Rainier. The quiet and serenity lures them in and soon they’ve found that they’ve “wasted” an entire day.

Ok, you don’t like the mountains, let’s head over to the Olympic Peninsula. Welcome to the rainforest. I love this for the exact opposite reason than I do the Cascades. Here is a whole new world. Moss drapes from the trees. It’s misty and a bit dark. The fauna and flora are shrouded and serve no other purpose than to protect each other from the ever present rain. To some it is a bit on the depressing side because of the darkness. To me, I see it as a symbol of what we need to get through to survive. The feeling I have when I see that little bitty flower peeping out of a dead tree that has follow and long ago turned to mush is amazing.

A little cold? Time for the desert. Yes, we have a full blown desert. Eastern Washington is known for dry land farming, but it has some many natural wonders, as well. My favorite is Lake Chelan. Lake Chelan is a glacier fed lake. It’s one of the longest lakes in the country. There is so much to do here. Try waterskiing or hiking around the lake. There are some parts that are only accessible by plane, boat, or hiking in. Here we’ve got the mountain atmosphere with much warmer temperatures and water sports galore.

So now that you’ve gotten a tour of my favorite state, you can see how I relax. I get back to nature. Seeing the little things in life can often help you to see the big picture. Seeing a plant growing out of a rock shows us the struggle that nature goes through to survive. Watching plants and animals work together shows us that even sworn enemies can work towards a common goal.

You can find your piece of nature anywhere. Central Park, the zoo, the Everglades, and that farm down the road. Even a petting zoo is an example.

When I feel overwhelmed I just have to look at nature and realize that if it can find a way to make it work, so can I. So, your homework (homework in a blog about relieving stress?) is to, next time you’re stressed, go find some nature. Sit, walk, swim, whatever and then come back here and tell us about it.