Nature

So I'm out here at Stanford Sierra Camp on the shores of Falling Leaf Lake. Lotsa trees. Big rocks. Thin air - around 8000 feet or so - so a short flight of steps is more difficult than it should be.

Me? I'm blogging in the business center. I even spent a few minutes upgrading their IE to the latest version.

Some people are more connected to Nature than I am. Some people spend their entire lives in Nature, or working on behalf of Nature. I feel vaguely guilty about my lack of regular connection to Nature. Which is not to say I don't feel connected - I do - but just not at the level of some people.

Is this important? Should I look for more ways to get grounded? To feel grass under my bare feet? To put my hands in dirt? Watch birds?

Regardless of the fact that I am blogging when I could be hiking, I feel deeply connected to the natural universe. The keen interest I had as a child - when astronomy, ornithology, botany, paleontology, geology, and other ologies loudly called my name - that interest remains. I just have to reach for it. Name it. Remember it.

The memory comes with some regret - I am past the age of becoming an astronaut or a botanist - but at the same time, I feel okay about it. I have a suspicion that I will still learn about the natural universe, and also enjoy it on its own terms, without a rigorous academic structure, just strolling back to my room at Fallen Leaf Lake.

That's okay, isn't it?