Out of the Concrete Jungle

If I had my druthers, I would not personally choose to live in a large city. I know that some people wouldn't think of living anywhere other than a city, but not me. Now before I launch into the benefits of fresh air, rolling hills and open fields, I want to say that I am not someone who says cities should be destroyed and everyone should live out in the country. There are benefits to cities, but I would like to make a case for at least some exposure to the world outside the 'concrete jungles' of metropolitan areas.

After a time of being inundated with traffic and white noise, there is something almost otherworldly about nature. Whenever this change in scenery happens for me, I begin by noticing the complete silence of my atmosphere, wondering how I could have ever put up with the noise. And then after a little while, you begin to pick up on the little sounds around you. Almost as if your senses have had time to recover and sharpen. You hear the birds, the rustle of the leaves and the wind blowing past you. A new world, previously unnoticed is revealed little by little.

Currently, outside of my window, there is construction taking place. A jackhammer is pounding loudly away, sometimes pausing for directions to be shouted from the foreman to his workers. And I understand the necessity of this. Buildings and roads need to built and maintained, but if one's life is only filled with this, then there might be something that is lost in the noise.

The following picture was taken on the Appalachian Trail. Over tree roots, stones and an uneven, unpaved path winding along the Smoky Mountains, I never once missed the sound of traffic.

The AT, Smoky Mountain National Park