Ohio River Bluff.

Photo by: Tim Bindner Photography

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”  This quote from Albert Einstein I think sums up where I am in my life.

Sunday I went on a hike at O’Bannon Woods State Park with my friend Kristin.  We went on the Ohio River Bluff trail, which is one I have wanted to do for a while now.  It did not disappoint.

The road toward the parking lot was long and twisty.  It is a one-lane road, which was made even narrower by the recent deposit of sticks, limbs, and leaves left by the recent ice storm.  As I descended deeper in the park I stopped to admire 5 large deer blocking my path and staring directly at me. It was a brief moment that our stares locked, but reminded me I was in their home.

Arriving at the parking lot, we unloaded, grabbed the gear and headed off.  To the left was mighty Ohio hidden is a cloak of fog and to the right was a long stretch of an overhanging cliff that I would eventually be on top of.  We moved our way across the parking lot and on to a path.  The fog surrounded us providing a chill and a sense of calmness.  The only sound I could hear was a distant tugboat to my left in the fog.  The trail beneath my feet was covered in leaves and mud from the recent rains.  The squishing of my boots were almost hypnotic.  To the right, a large set of caves opened up and we quickly made our way up a rocky hill to explore.  The air was chilly, the mist-covered us in moisture, but I was able to grab a few good shots with my camera.

After a bit of exploring we made our way back onto the trail and moved on.  Soon we could see lots of trash that had collected and was resting around the path in the surrounding woods.  My mind drifted to the irony of this place.  There was such beauty all around and also so much trash.  For me a simple personification of society.  If we focus on the beauty we will see it, if we focus on the trash, we will see it.  Here they co-exist, but my mind and my eyes saw the beauty.

Our journey continued and we found ourselves and our path being blocked as the Blue River met the Ohio River, and we had nowhere to go but back.  We turned and headed back toward the last fork we saw which we took.  This eventually took us up and above the low lying swampy area, we had been traversing.  We were now in the depths of the forest.  Most of the leaves were now on the ground below us, but we could see more carnage caused by the falling limbs of the aforementioned ice storm.  We continued to ascend and eventually reached the ridge where we were met with astounding views of the Ohio River.  The fog by this time had burned mostly off and the multiple ledges we discovered provided “the pretties” as my friend often stated.

Between the views, the smell of the decaying leaves, the chill of the fog and the warmth of the sun, I saw the power and beauty of nature today.  As I mentioned in the opening I looked into nature and I saw my life.  I saw beauty, I saw decay, I saw beautiful views and I was surrounded in fog, I saw waste and I saw growth.  I did as Albert Einstein suggested, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

The fog is lifting in my life.  I am learning the true intentions of people.  I have friends who ask me for help and do what they want anyway, regardless of what I suggest.  Thus wasting my time and energy.  We have a President that shows little to no compassion when it comes to the devastating fires in California but is quick to blame the forest service. I learned of a young 15 years old who tragically lost his life in a car accident this past weekend, yet I hear people saying “good morning, it is a great day”, while that family prepares to bury their child.  I see families preparing for the holidays ready for a fight with their ‘loved ones’ over petty differences, as one family member could be attending his last one due to failing health.  My point is there is good and bad, beauty and tragedy, positives and negatives all around.  Most people gravitate to the bad (though they will never admit it), but I am learning to look for the good.  Take what I am given and deal with it.

My camera provides me with the focus to seek out the beauty and relive it through those moments I capture.  This hike showed me that within life there is beauty and trash.  It is and will always be there.  It is my goal to seek out what I want to focus on.  The pictures here I think to sum up what I decided on.

Until next time,

Tim