Philosophical truths in the most unlikely places...

Apologies for not posting sooner. Recently I have been out of work and received a call that I start my new job soon. While this is good news, I have been stressing about getting all the things I wanted to do during my "time-off" and have been trying to find the time to do it all. But enough about my oh-so-intriguing social life, you're here to have your brain poked in those places you don't often use. To have the film peeled back off your eyes and see things in a new light, however brief the experience. You've came to the right place my friend.

Last blog I mentioned going on a hike around Zilker Park here in Austin, TX. The specific point of this hike (and all others with this group) is to allow nature to inspire you in your various forms of creativity. The first creative stop was at an overlook of Austin. I sat on the ledge and pondered the skyline of Austin. Accompanying this glimpse of depth was the creative work of another individual, Darren, who snapped a picture of me as I was writing. I thank him for this contribution. In THIS posting we're in the same setting, on the same hike. A little further along we have our last creative stop in a creek/ravine that was fairly dry from the lack of recent rain. I snapped this photo (above) of the stopping area with my camera phone.

This time I couldn't find anything that inspired me right of the bat, so I wandered further back. (back and to the right in the picture) There I found tons of things, any one of which could have inspired pages. But, having only45 minutes at my disposal, I had to focus fast. So I wandered around snapping various pictures with my phone and sat down at an abandoned cement picnic table to write. This is what I came up with...

I'm sitting here at a forgotten picnic table, 100 yards from MoPac on Superbowl Sunday. Like before, I suppose I could allow the busy freeway to my right and the lime green drainage pipe placed attractively in front of rusted fencing to could my view of what I personally believe is PROOF of God. But I'd rather rail against the cynicism clouding my mind, if only for the moment.

The first thing I notice is the green of the grass all around me. Hell, even the moss clinging to stones and the pointed cacti look appealing. The trees seem dead, but to me they simply conceal the beauty underneath. They cover the vibrant ground below them and those "health nuts" flying by are too distraught by the gray tree tops to bother themselves with peering below them. So they continue on their way to concrete gyms. (Funny how they flee from gray to grey)

Green is pure, and I notice no matter how overcast the skies, green lives. In some of the comics I read, green is the color of will. I suppose the green here is willing to thrive in spite of ... you fill in the blank. A little ways off I can see what looks like a group of mushrooms with bright reddish tops. Upon closer inspection I see they're nothing more than young saplings cut to the ground and marked with spray paint. *sigh* A little further off I see a gigantic like oak tree and notice beneath my feet that only a stones throw from MoPac and humanity, there are still deer tracks in this place. People often refer to deer as "stupid". Do you know what I'm thinking? Here in this spot, alone in the moment on a cold gray day? Perhaps deer refuse to let the fading colors around them and the penetration of mankind stifle their enjoyment of what is left. In this moment I realise something ... I think deer may be smarter than me.

Hope you enjoyed it!