nature. beauty. gratitude.

we live in awe at the wonders of the web. at our fingertips, the answers to any possible question are a few clicks or taps away. but somehow, when you search for “meaning,” the gajillions of google results fall short.

why do we feel our best—our minds at ease, our breaths deeper, our vision clearer, our stress lower—when we are outside, in nature? we’ll never know the answer to why we are here on this earth. but nature offers the clearest clues that i’ve ever encountered.

“Beauty and seduction are nature’s tools for survival, because we protect what we fall in love with. It opens our hearts and makes us realize that we’re a part of nature and we’re not separate from it. When we see ourselves in nature it connects every one of us.” – Louis Schwartzberg

i came across an amazing TED talk whose premise was that perhaps we are on this earth to simply be in awe of what each day brings. schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director and producer who captures breathtaking images that celebrate life—revealing connections, universal rhythms, patterns and beauty. through stunning time-lapse photography, accompanied by words from benedictine monk brother david steindl-rast, he created a powerful meditation on being grateful for every day. i promise your life will be richer from the 9 minutes you spend watching this video.

“You think this is just another day in your life. It’s not just another day, it’s the one day that is given to you: today. It’s given to you. It’s a gift. It’s the only gift that you have right now, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness.

Learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life and the very last day…Open your eyes…then it will really be a good day.”