Open Up Your Senses

Always be aware of your surroundings. Maybe it sounds easy, but it does take training. This is something I teach in Wilderness First Aid and preach even in basic CPR and First Aid. It is important in safety, but how to heighten your senses to take in everything around you is a way to see and appreciate nature in a much deeper level.

People are always asking, how was I so lucky to capture that photo? It is not luck, it takes a lot of observing and patience. Start your senses training! Always utilize your given gifts and help to grow with them.

*Sight; don't take it for granted, it can diminish with age and not everyone has been given this true gift. So use it. Pay attention to every little detail around you. Trekking through the woods whether a walk with the dogs or alone in a deep forest, pay attention to details large and small. What is nature telling you? When I jumped out of the truck to start this hike, the eyes are scanning left, right, up, down and all around. Otherwise, this phenomena would have been missed. A rainbow aurora from the sun in the middle of a deep blue sky appeared and only for a brief encounter, then it was gone.

A sign, the rainbow is a sign of hope and a promise, they only last seconds. Embrace the moment.

So much can be seen with the eyes to whisper what is going on in your surroundings. Always looking for signs of wildlife, are they possibly close or present? Paw prints and poop can tell you a lot. Animal tracks crossing your path? Hopefully not tracking you!

" You miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut" Dr Suess

*Smell; close your eyes and breathe deep. Lately there have been an abundance of forest fires, do you smell smoke or burning? Can you smell the rain? Huckleberry season is passed, but to walk in a patch of plants loaded with ripe huckleberries! Yum! What else would that smell suggest? Not alone and possibly in bear territory? It may be disgusting, but the smell of a dead animal is pretty distinct. That also can mean danger, stumbling upon dinner of a predator who took a nap from eating.

* Sounds and hearing; there are times when the wind is still and the forest is very silent. Not often, but the rustling in the brush; is it a bird, squirrel or something bigger? Little leaves crackling have a much happier sound than a big branch breaking. Is it windy? Be aware of falling branches. Animal noises are amazing, the bugling of an elk in the fall or the gruff bark of a bear is a warning. Keep your ears keen and aware.

* Sense of touch and feel; from the warm sun shining on your face to the brisk chill of a crisp Fall morning. Always be prepared for weather changes, when you feel the winds blow a storm may be traveling your direction. Have the proper gear, it is unpredictable.

*Taste; Might sound silly and don't eat just anything in the wild. But, you can taste with your memory bank and help brighten your senses of your surroundings.

Training your senses will open a bigger world to experience nature and all its elements. There is so much to take in and appreciate the beauty and the harshness of the forest. Let go and live it!

"Painting from nature is not copying the object; it is realizing one's sensations" - (Paul Cezanne)