Nature beckons. Say yes.

If you want to get a good laugh, get outside.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The earth laughs in flowers.”

I took the shot of this field of joy last week at Holden Arboretum. For a few hours, all I did was breathe in the sunshine, savor every last leaf and pause to absorb all that beauty.

In the midst of this pandemic, I’m trying to live more of my life outdoors, but it’s hard when the computer and cell phone and social media are so enticing.

After watching the movie, “The Social Dilemma” I was horrified to realize how addicted I was becoming to that little ping on my phone that tells me someone just called or texted. Those notifications were designed to addict you. So are the likes and comments and shares on Facebook and Instagram.

Every part of me feels better when I turn away from the phone and turn my face to the sun, the earth and everything growing on it.

What peace awaits us all outside.

It doesn’t even matter what the weather is doing. I’ve learned to see weather as an adventure, not a problem. In Cleveland where I live, if you wait a few minutes, it’ll change anyway. Last week it dropped from 81 degrees on Friday to 40 degrees on Saturday.

But no matter what, I’m getting out there and enjoying it all. My friend Maurice taught me, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.”

So bundle up and get out there in it. Nature is a great escape from politics. As Wendell Berry said, “ The earth is what we all have in common.”

So let’s get back to the land, the trees, the sea, the sky. Let’s stay grounded in our truest identity, children of the Universe, children of Abundance, children of the Earth, who, together, inherited the most magnificent planet in the known solar system.