{"id":631,"date":"2015-04-08T17:44:28","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T00:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.evergreen.edu\/portlandpoetry\/?p=115"},"modified":"2015-04-08T17:44:28","modified_gmt":"2015-04-09T00:44:28","slug":"the-art-of-travel-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/the-art-of-travel-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Travel: Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

“There are in our existence spots of time,<\/em>
\n\u00a0That with distinct pre-eminence retain<\/em>
\n\u00a0A renovating virtue, whence, depressed<\/em>
\n\u00a0By false opinion and contentious thought,<\/em>
\n\u00a0Or aught of heavier or more deadly weight,<\/em>
\n\u00a0In trivial occupations, and the round<\/em>
\n\u00a0Of ordinary intercourse, our minds<\/em>
\n\u00a0Are nourished and invisibly repaired;<\/em>
\n\u00a0A virtue, by which pleasure is enhanced,<\/em>
\n\u00a0That penetrates, enables us to mount,<\/em>
\n\u00a0When high, more high, and lifts us up when fallen”<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 William Wordsworth,\u00a0The Prelude<\/em><\/p>\n

I think I was most captivated by chapter 5, The Country and the City, while reading the second half of The Art of Travel<\/em> by Alain de Botton. In this section de Botton references William Wordsworth quite often while exploring the psychological effects nature has on humans. I am profoundly drawn to nature and always feel mentally renewed after spending time in nature \u2013 whether it\u2019s the forest, the beach, or just sitting outside on some stairs. One of the reasons Washington state caught my attention is because of the vast amount of trees and the amount of rain the PNW receives. I am originally from a small, hot city in California where all the grass and trees are dying and the only experience of seeing a beautiful, green landscape is maybe <\/em>during spring (if there\u2019s been enough rain) or if you travel 2 cities away to go to a \u201cfamous\u201d Vineyard. Green happens to be my favorite color and I never cease to be in awe at how many lush green trees are around just The Evergreen State College. I find myself walking around campus (generally away from red square) thinking about how much I love the college I go to and how lucky I am to practically live and study in a forest. \u00a0I am always grateful for any drop of rain that we get because I know the trees and plants thrive because of it. I know that even if I am a little bummed that I will be thankful for the rain in the future. It has also given me a deeper appreciation of the sun \u2013 Now on sunny days I am grateful whereas in California I became resentful of the sun because it just meant another hot day searching for shade.
\n\"Screen<\/a>California has been in a drought for years and it\u2019s gotten to the point where the lake park in my hometown has completely dried up. When I visited in September of 2014, I was able to walk to the center of the lake \u2013 which had been full of life since before I was born. This experience was mind-boggling\u2026 I couldn\u2019t believe that the place I broke my foot when I was 4, the place I accidentally threw my fishing pole in when I was 7, the place I had gone swimming every summer, and the place I went to experience a little piece of nature had practically vanished.\u00a0I think the depth of appreciation I have for nature has stemmed from growing up in a less than beautiful city that rarely\u00a0gets any rain. Perhaps in its own way, it is beautiful\u2026 Because everything has beauty to it, it just has somewhat of a dreary feel to it because everything around you is dying because it can\u2019t get the proper care.<\/p>\n

There is no way I would ever be able to live in the city I grew up in again, especially after living in the PNW for a little over 3 years now. Being farther from the ocean has been a tough transition, but being surrounded by forests has been a good compromise.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese trees gave off an impression of astonishing health and exuberance. They seemed not to care that the world was old and often sad\u2026 These trees provided a ledge against which I could rest m thoughts; they protected me from the eddies of anxiety and, in a small way that afternoon, contributed a reason to be alive\u201d (152).<\/p>\n

Whenever I feel myself becoming ungrounded or overwhelmed, I realize it\u2019s when I haven\u2019t explored the forest or been to the ocean in a while. I often feel this longing to become one with nature and as essential as water is for life, nature is for (my) psychological well-being. It certainly doesn\u2019t mean it fixes everything but I find it helpful to take a day, or even just a few hours, to ditch electronics for the most part and just absorb what this world has created without much impact of humans. I feel more balanced and grounded after. A sense of peace and gratitude consumes my body and any distressing thoughts or emotions that proceeded. \u00a0I am looking forward to finding spots in Portland that can bring a similar feeling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“There are in our existence spots of time,  That with distinct pre-eminence retain  A renovating virtue, whence, depressed  By false opinion and contentious thought,  Or aught of heavier or more deadly weight,  In trivial occupations, and the round  Of ordinary intercourse, our minds  Are nourished and invisibly repaired;  A virtue, by which pleasure is enhanced,  That penetrates, enables us to mount,  When high, more high, and lifts us up when…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1260,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[],"tags":[56],"geo":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/musicalcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}