Beauty of Home

I've never thought of Illinois as beautiful. The Rockies? Breathtaking. An Appalachian glade? Intoxicating. Part of it is certainly that we have buried the land in so much crap here. Home Depots and housing developments oppress the soul. But there is the time dimension. We go to the places we know to be beautiful with the intention to spend time there. We get our of our cars long enough to see the beauty.

As winter fades into spring and daylight smiles on me for longer than I spend inside working, I am able to see this land I call home. For whatever reason, I've been seeking out long, straight, rolling roads. Tuesday I crested a hill our in farm country and shafts of sunlight pierced broad fields as far as my eyes could see. There is beauty even in northern Illinois if one takes the time to see. Running takes time, yes, but it also gives time... to see.

Through voices in the wilderness like Wendell Berry, Gary Snyder, and Jack Turner, place is being reintroduced into our awareness. What I am describing builds upon place a concept lost some generations ago... home. My feet tread across this land, this place. It was hidden, but my eyes are beginning to see the beauty of this place, of home.

Get out there.