A New View On Life

The recent full moon rising over the forest outside our living room window.

Our new home is giving us a new view on life, and one which we are enjoying very much so far. I think that what we see out of the windows of our homes affects the brain and quality of life. I am happiest when I can see nature when I turn my attention to outside.

A far-away view from my home is essential. I like a vista that my eyes can saunter over as I enjoy a hot beverage at sunrise, or while I cook or do dishes at the end of the day. 

I don't want to see straight lines and 90 degree angles, nor steel, concrete, and pavement. Or traffic. When I look outward I want to see wildlife, big skies and glorious sunrises and sunsets.

Every window in our new home is an idyllic painting full of light and colour.

Once while living in the big city I looked at a cheap apartment in the basement of a 10 suite 1950s building. The bachelor unit had one high window - it looked out at the blank brick wall of the building next door 3 feet away.

As I looked around I wondered how long it would be before I lost my mind if I actually lived in this marginal location. Or would it be motivation for meditation? I didn't stick around to contemplate that one.

I ran to the street, lungs gasping for air and my eyes searching for a more enjoyable, expansive view.

The view looking north east toward the Bay of Fundy and Annapolis Valley.

In our previous home on the west coast we were among the last North Americans to watch the sun set. Now we are among the first to watch the sun rise. After years of witnessing sunsets from the comfort of our home, the sunrises we see from home now have the power to draw us out of bed at ungodly hours of the early morning.

It is difficult to witness the spectacle and not feel invigorated for the rest of the day.

Linda birdwatching in a sunbeam at one of our bedroom windows (before
we moved our bed in from the van).

Our kitchen window makes doing dishes preferable over using the dishwasher.
This is a spot in which I don't mind lingering as the sun sets.

Our neighbour mowing his hayfield with his son along for the ride.

I was doing dishes a few days ago and watched my neighbour mow his hayfield. The next day I watched him collect the hay into bales. The day after that, and every day since, I have been entertained by a woodchuck whose burrow was exposed when the grasses were cut low.

I have never seen a woodchuck anywhere before, let alone from the window of my home. It is a whole new, and exciting view of life here on the east coast.