I had been looking forward to my Christmas break for many months and although much of the time did seem be spent with the family and relatives I was able to go for walks at Burrator Reservoir on west Dartmoor and around the nearby Lydford Gorge, and up on the Shobdon and Wapley Hills in Herefordshire. I had high expectations of being inspired and somehow felt let down. I think that because I was so keen to just get out and walk that to actually spend some quality awareness time there seemed a little difficult. I just wanted to see as much as possible and enjoy being away from my office/work.
In some ways what I think has happened was that I gave myself a break that sort of gave me time to just re-evaluate and step back from my normal thoughts. Now that I am back to normality and day to day living I feel invigorated to do more and be more motivated to do various things.
Perhaps familiarity with a landscape enables one to feel more close to it. If you go somewhere you know well and see often, you are less likely to be distracted by it. Then I think it is easier to meditate, think about your connections and do prayer.
Mind you, it was cold out! Spending time sitting for long periods did not seem the easiest thing to do, and I didn't sketch as much as I had hoped I would. But I did, physically, enjoy myself (if not spiritually), by walking, looking, and touching the landscape around me. When I sat on my 'stone' on Dartmoor and the sun appeared for a few minutes for the only time that day. It was beautiful.
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