Stress

A few months ago, good friends of ours (our next door neighbors), built a house on some land they have had for quite a while.        They own 22 acres in Lincoln County; part of it is wooded while the other part of it is pasture land.     They have owned the land for about 5 years, and would go up occassionally to enjoy the peace and quiet that "the country" brings before they decided to build.   Turns out that the people that own the land next to them is has some land that is up for sale, and we are able to purchase a few acres.       My husband's dream has always been to own some land...something about being "in nature" is comforting.

When I go out to this land, there is usually no noise.  I have never NOT heard anything before I started going up to this land.   The noise that I do hear from time to time is the buzz of the bugs flying many, many feet away.  I hear the frogs at night, the birds flying in the air and the coyotes "yip" at night.    I enjoy looking at the grass, the flowers growing in the wild and the many species of mushrooms feeding off of the dead.    I sit and look for deer, not for hunting, but just for fun.  I watch the bats fly in the early evening, build a fire in the fire pit and just enjoy the peacefulness that nature brings.     It does not matter what kind of day I have had, when I venture out there, the stresses of my life become a distant memory.

Every one needs a sanctuary...a place to go to in order to relieve some stress.    Teenagers have a lot going on, and it only gets worse as you get older.   You need to be able to handle the stresses in your life without resorting to violence, drugs, pills, alcohol, etc.     Whether your sanctuary is your room, a place in your backyard, etc. find "your place" that helps you cope.    Take a few minutes to sit, relax, enjoy your surroundings, and breathe.  

Just looking at pictures of my sanctuary makes me feel better.