There are certain times and certain places that  everywhere you look seems to sparkle with a magical brilliance of color and light. That feeling of clarity and visual pleasure awakens a dynamic portion of your soul, and it’s in this sensation you begin to feel as if you are walking through a virtual masterpiece of time and place. You feel it in every part of your being, an awakening in your sluggish or sleepy soul.

I felt this on a trip last year to snowy Switzerland and more recently on a trip to the sparkling Greek Islands. The beauty of these landscapes was so incredible that I felt like my soul would burst.  Living in Croatia truly makes me feels like that much of the time, especially in the springtime when the sun and the colors of nature here burst forth with a fervor. That feeling has been magnified a thousand times over this year after being holed up in a house for several weeks amidst a global pandemic. Stolen walks in nature have been more appreciated and soothing than ever.

Stolen walks in nature have been more appreciated and soothing than ever.

I decided to let my pictures do most of the talking on this particular post as I feel like they are the best way to describe the beauty and the energy here right now.

This rocky outcrop in Banjole overlooking the Adriatic Sea is balm for everything troubling that flows through your mind. It stands stoically here throughout storms and harsh winds and turbulent seas. The turquoise waters contrast sharply with the harshness of the white limestone rocks combining comfort and stern sterility with one glance.

The abundance of bees amidst the tiny delicate flowers that surround the rocky paths in Istria add a nice hum and a gentle scent to remind you of the peace and beauty of nature’s existence. The tiny bell shaped flowers are often unnoticed because of their diminuitive size, but upon slow and close inspection they are small bits of perfection. They remind us not to walk so fast and enjoy life’s small surprises.

Plants that cling tenaciously to rocky walls and that are able to survive in harsh conditions are a lesson for us to be patient and thrive in difficult circumstances and to look for nourishment in unlikely places.

The newly planted rust red fields of Istria against the spring sky remind us there is work to be done, and it’s time to dig deep inside ourselves and grow roots for a new flowering and future harvest.

The solitary plant sits in the sun keeping its distance from the others, so it will be able to survive and thrive in the future.  A good lesson for us all at this time in isolation.

Strange and quirky young plants grow and thrive in the remotest of places. As young seedlings we know nothing of what they may become in the future. Enjoy the peculiar; besides being beautiful in their own right, they make life interesting.

The wildflowers that line the hilly path are just as beautiful as those cultivated carefully in hothouses.  Let your natural beauty shine through.

The tides will continue despite your presence, raging violently in the winds and lulling the stones peacefully in calmer times, showing nature’s indifference to our presence.  We are not as important as we think we are.

The smooth stones are the bones of the rocky cliffs worn smooth through time by the thrashing tides. Difficulties can round off the sharp edges of the cruel and the harsh.  Through adversity we can become softer, smoother, more humane.

And finally, never forget that each and everyone of us has his or her own perspective. Everyone of some age has been worn down and weathered in good conditions and bad and takes away a general view that may be different than yours. Look at things a different way and change your own perspective. Or at least attempt to understand why someone may view something different than you.

What in nature sparks your soul?

Note: I’d love to hear from anyone who knows the names of the flowers I’ve posted, especially the strange seedlings and the tiny bell flowers.