Have we lost our ability to appreciate nature in such a technological world?

There is a hill in my home town that i often scale when i need to be with God in a quiet space... On the left is a photo of a fire that i lit there once, a few months ago when it was still cold at night. Tonight i scaled the hill again with a friend. When we reached the top, we turned back to gaze upon the view (which is quite beautiful). It's a picturesque scene at night, on the left you can see the shimmering lights of a Melbourne skyline and its' surrounding reddish-orange haze, which is almost luminous on a cloudy night. And on the right, a valley of chimney smoke is dotted with dim house lights in a town enclosed by rich green mountains. My friend and i sat down and exchanged only a few brief comments until we were drowned out by the silent beauty of our surroundings.

There we sat in silence for the next 15 minutes or so, with only faint sounds of cars and trains echoing in the distance. It made me wonder how deeply caught up we can get in a life where seemingly everything is at our fingertips. Sometimes we can get so distracted with all the things that we own, and some of the meaningless time wasters we become lost in, that we miss out on the complexity, wonder and mystery that life has to offer us and fail to recognise the humble beauty of creation. When was the last time we just sat down, in a place void of our technological comforts, and enjoyed the free gift that is all around us? With no computers, TVs, myspace, mobile phones, Internet, x-box, PlayStation, e-mail, shopping malls, coffee shops, fast food outlets, cars, clubs, billboards, movies, ...you see my point. I wonder what we would be like as people, if we were to re-discover the awe of this secret artistry that is our world...

For some, the more time you spend in solitude, you will find connectedness and a sense of well-being. For others, you will find yourself being inspired and refreshed. Others still, will find themselves more involved in a deep sense of mystery and purpose. Spend time away from the pushing and pulling of the competitive, money driven world that we live and you will learn something about yourself, about life. There are so many chances to create life, volume, strength, beauty and definition within us, but we must be disciplined and pro-active in our choice to temporarily tear away from our over-crowded lives...