5 Reasons You Should Go Outside and Take a Look Around

No matter your job or lifestyle, we all get caught up in the craziness of life and forget to take a deep breath and enjoy the beauty around us. Not only is it diverse and mysterious, but it is an environment of a calm busyness. A productive silence.

I find myself forgetting to appreciate the little things in life with the stress of school and life, but I use photography as a reason to get me outside and to look at things with a different outlook. It slows me down and allows me to try to capture a moment through my eyes.

Whatever it is that gets you outside to enjoy the beauty of nature all around you, take advantage of it. Here are five reasons you should go outside and take a look around you, as told through some of my photographs and experiences. (Note: it’s also a time to put your phone away or on silent to escape reality and enter a realm of self-reflection and creative inspiration).

1. You get to experience the wonders of the world. Over 70% of our world is covered in water, so go explore it. 

Each of the photos above was taken throughout my summer as an aquatic invasive species intern for the Washburn County Land and Water Conservation Department. I was outside all summer for my job, which forced me to slow down and pay attention to the life around me. I saw the most beautiful and interesting things when I was near water.

2. You learn to find beauty in the little things, and discover the natural world’s truth. 

Going through daily life, you often don’t think about the organisms around you and their story. By exploring the natural world, you’ll see so many unique things and appreciate those small parts of the world that most people don’t take the time to observe and learn about. There is so much to learn, and you can learn these things through observation. You can discover the world’s truths by watching things happening around you.

Growing up, I was always outside and discovered that dragonfly larvae live in the water. Once the adult dragonfly is ready to emerge, the larvae crawl onto land. Once they emerge, they leave their casing behind. The image on the upper left shows the ghostly casing hanging from a step near the lake.

If you slow down and let yourself observe your surroundings, you’ll likely see unexpected things such as the frog perched on the river’s edge or the tree frog hiding on the pole.

3. You learn to expect the unexpected.

Working as an aquatic invasive species intern, I definitely learned to expect the unexpected. Looking into the Yellow River, wriggling among the sand and rocks was a group of sea lamprey in their larval stage (top left). Just down stream was a curious fish that I haven’t yet identified (top right).

Sitting in my chair monitoring boat landings for invasive species transfer, the brush touched my arm. Looking back, I discovered a spider blending into the weeds behind me. Looking into an informational glass covered board at the landing about invasive species, I found a bat perched inside.

It’s these little unexpected things that you won’t see unless you allow yourself to explore the world around you.

4. You find a peaceful serenity and retreat into nature.

Interacting with and observing nature is a refreshing task. Capturing serene moments such as those above allow you to get up close and personal with nature.

5. You discover a life not consumed by technology. You can choose to see things however you want to see it and capture moments unseen by the rest of the world. 

 

We live in such a beautiful world. Do yourself a favor and spend some time outside. You’ll never know what’s around you if you don’t slow down and open your eyes to the wonders around you.