Stop and Smell the Roses

In my Shakespeare class, we talk a lot about heroism and what defines a hero and what makes up his heroic quest, and you wouldn't think it at first, but one of the characteristics of a hero is his connection to nature.

Homer believed that the closer you were to nature, the more you felt at home and true to your natural self. He also said that civilization and culture can alienate you from nature.

Now I am definitely not a hippie, let's go with the flow, sing kumbaya and become one with the earth kind of person, but it got me thinking about God's purpose behind creating nature.

Nature shows the beauty of God and the expanse of His imagination - it shows all the different sides of God - His gracefulness, but also His power and might.

I think in my daily life I take nature for granted. Virginia is such a beautiful state - we have all four seasons, beautiful foliage, valleys, and mountains- especially surrounding Charlottesville.

So if God took so much care into making our earth beautiful, why don't I take more time to be thankful for the gorgeous home He has made for me? I mean, what can be better to the end of a stressful day than seeing the sun sink below the mountains casting off pink and orange hues?

So I definitely think we all need to stop and smell the roses a little more.

And that's my two cents.