I awoke this morning to the welcoming site of lush green trees-viewed from the window of course- and was super excited. 

If you don't know me, I love, LoVe, LOVE nature and have greatly missed it living in the city. I'm staying with a friend for the week and it was a breath of fresh air to see such a sight. :-)

You really don't know what you have until it is gone.  

My heart misses Kansas, the beauty and simplicity of it all. 

I miss the wide open spaces as far as the eye can see. 

I miss seeing the stars so close and bright you feel you could touch them. 

I miss the wildflowers filling the prairie with life and color. 

I miss the slower pace where a traffic-jam consists of being stuck behind a slow-moving tractor or two vehicles stopped in the middle of the road talking to eachother. 

I miss driving slow and soaking in all the beauty surrounding me.

I miss fields of sunshine- aka sunflowers.
I miss the golden fields of wheat before harvest; the sweet smell of alfafa.

I miss my mom's tulips in the springtime. I miss my family.
I miss Kansas skies and storms. When the storms roll in, the sky seems alive with activity and it leaves me breathless.

There is so much beauty to behold all around us, everyday, but we are all in such a hurry to get somewhere that we miss it. Living in MD, I've seen sunrises and sunsets (though disprupted by buildings and trees) that left me speechless. Lush green is everywhere with forests of trees that bid me to come explore their depths. Streams, rivers and waterfalls (harder to find but beautiful) sing songs of mystery. The wind whispers secrets if you will be still and listen. Trees and blossoming and flowers spring up all over the earth. Beauty is all around us just waiting to be discovered.

Why is everyone in such a hurry? You drive 15 miles over the speed limit and you still get passed by everyone. It's never enough. We want to go faster. We want things now. no waiting. It's so easy to get caught up in the madness and rush. It's stressful. 

In Kansas, I would tire of driving down the same road and seeing the same fields everyday, and the adventurer in me would desire to find a road-less-traveled to explore. I would find an interesting looking gravel road that I knew went in the general direction I wanted to go and see where it took me. (Our roads are grid-lined so it is pretty easy to find your way around as long as the road goes all the way though.) 

I loved to get off the high-way and be able to slow down without feeling like I would get ran over, roll down my windows and soak in the beauty around me as the wind played with my hair. 
Back then I thought my life was boring, but what I wouldn't give sometimes to get out of the hustle and bustle and enjoy the scenery again.

We all need to SLOW down and smell the roses. Don't let life pass you by because you're always in a hurry.