My parent’s families both come from the same small valley town in the mountains of Jalisco Mexico. It is in that very same town that I have not only my greatest experiences in nature, but my most profound epiphanies, and it is there that I find my sanctuary from my fast pace life here in the states. Waking up to the rooster’s crow at the first sight of dawn I emerge from my sleep with the energy and vitality of my youth at its very peak. Stepping outside I witness the sun’s golden rays pierce the sky and engulf the mountains. Feeling the morning’s chill receding as the golden beams of light splash warmth onto the surface and my body. The air crisp, refreshing, wafting the aromas of the local herbs like rosemary and basil. Every morning I take a walk down an old trail which leads me deeper into the valley. As I continue down the trail my surroundings begin to lose their altered states and begin reverting to their original form, the way all the lands would have been if there was no human interference. Homes become caves, roads become grass, pools become streams, and the occupants go from people to trees, wildflowers, and birds. My favorite area is s spot that resembles an actual chair made from the roots of a tree growing on top of a boulder that sits beside a big stream. It is here that I come for mental and spiritual release. There are different paths to the same destination in this respect. Some achieve enlightenment, awakening, or whatever term you may use to describe that sense of immersion, becoming one with all and realizing that all is essentially one, through various mediums. Nature is one of mine. Nature to me is more than just an area where vegetation grows, or a place that is untouched by man, it is a description of existence, and because it describes everything then that means that everything has meaning. I find beautiful metaphors to help me learn about life through many facets for example the spot, of which I described earlier, is itself a metaphor for cooperation. We have the stream which carried, at some point in time, the boulder to that exact spot, and when a seed found its way atop the boulder it began to grow in an area where it wouldn't be swept away. Once the tree grew further it began to nourish itself from the stream and when it got very large it used the boulder as support so as to not topple over. That is how I interpret nature. Through its simplicity we can understand how complex and beautiful the world truly is.