Though still in convalescence with my broken shoulder, last weekend I was able to go away for a couple days on a retreat with some other women. Okay, I only made it to half the sessions and slept through one of the meals, but it still did me a lot of good to get away. The setting was beautiful and peaceful, and Saturday morning I felt well enough to go out on a little walk all by myself. And while taking deep breaths of fresh oxygen I thought about how I’ve missed nature this past month, and about how I’m always trying to make it more complicated than it has to be. Nature, even in just small bits, brings an awareness of the moment that nothing else can. And I’ve always felt that if I can’t find beauty in my own backyard, then I won’t find it anywhere.