Personal Superstitions Reflective Essay

Introduction

Superstition is the belief in supernatural entities or forces that do not conform to any scientific fact or laws of nature (Emery, 2018). Believing in ghosts, omens, good luck charms, and magic are examples of superstitions. Some people engage in some rituals when they want to achieve a specific outcome (Whitbourne, 2014). I love to take a hike every now and wander off to clear my head. I believe that nature has a way of healing and reconditioning the body and mind. It is one of my closely-held superstition that being in-tune with nature is the best way to replenish the spirit. There are a lot of things going on in our lives today that it is good to unclog the mind as often as possible.

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Body

For a lover of nature, Colorado is the perfect place for me. I think that God took his time when making Colorado and its stunning mountains and landscapes, especially in fall. Autumn is the best time to be in Colorado if you love to take in the sights because the foliage in fall is unique (Richardson et al., 2018). My friends and I thought it would be a great idea to hit the nature trail and We had planned for this trip as a group of nature lovers, and we were waiting for the day in anticipation. Everyone was dressed for a hike with hoodies, coarse pants, boots, and a backpack. There was no forgetting the cameras since everyone wanted to retain some memorabilia.

We got into my friend's car and started driving towards Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and the air was characteristically crisp with a bright sun and clear blue sky. It was already looking like it was going to be an excellent day for taking pictures. There was light traffic on the roads, and hence we were able to make our way quickly to the national park. The Trail Ridge Road snakes through Rocky Mountain National park affording travellers a front-row view to the magnificence of nature. The scenery was filled with multi-colored leaves that were changing color due to the season. A colorful combination of yellows, reds, oranges, and the fading green of summer dominated all the trees in sight. The dew on the fallen leaves shimmered like diamonds when hit by the sun's rays as they penetrated the foliage.

Traffic had become considerably heavier than before when we just left home. Many other people had come to take photographs of this once-a-year phenomenon. Everywhere you looked was filled with dazzling yellows and bronze hues. We were lucky to see a few elk as they were in mating season at this time of the year. There were bugling noises all around the forests as male elk made the loud calls to attract the females ("Elk Bugling Season", 2018). The crunching and rustling of leaves and chirping of birds added to the beautiful soundtrack that brought the entire forest to life. The twists and turns on the edge of sheer cliffs also made for an exhilarating experience for the whole group. The sharp fragrance from the ponderosa pine trees filled the air with a therapeutic citrusy scent (Conners, 2016). The aspen trees also gave off an intense and dusty smell. Driving back through the backcountry roads in the late afternoon, we saw people in fields picking all kinds of produce including squash, melon, beets, strawberries, and carrots among many others.

Conclusion

The day was a great experience, and at the end, I felt that the scenery had cleared my mind in the national park and driving through the backcountry. There was so much beauty and structure in the trees and how they adapted to a new season. The sights, smells, and sounds of the national park had acted like a natural therapy. I learned that forest hikes and scents had been used in Japan as mood boosters for years ("Take A Deep Breath", 2018). I came back feeling refreshed, recharged and reenergized to face my next tasks and be resilient like the pine trees in the forest.

References

Conners, D. (2016). Why pine trees smell so good. Retrieved from http://earthsky.org/earth/why-conifer-christmas-trees-pine-spruce-fir-smell-terpenes

Elk Bugling Season. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.visitgrandcounty.com/stories/elk-bugling/Emery, D. (2018). What Is Superstition and How Does It Differ From Religion?. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-superstition-3298230

Richardson, H., Sangosti, R., & Ontiveroz, A. (2018). PHOTOS: Fall colors are taking over the Colorado high country. Retrieved from https://theknow.denverpost.com/2018/09/20/fall-colors-colorado-high-country/195952/

Take A Deep Breath - What Makes Tree Scents?. (2018). Retrieved from https://treesatlanta.org/news/take-a-deep-breath-what-makes-tree-scents/

Whitbourne, S. (2018). Why We're So Superstitious. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201410/why-were-so-superstitious