nature outing in the city

hang out with your friends, even if it's only for an hour or so! we helped friends with an errand today then went to a forest for a walk and to forage some ramps (a type of wild onion; the green thing in the photo below). we'd all been stressed recently, and a walk in the forest with friends was refreshing and relieving. 

when i feel bad, either physically or emotionally, oftentimes the last thing i want to do is see other people. i just want to crawl in bed and feel worse, quite frankly. but sometimes the thing you need the most is being with other people! even if it doesn't make a dent physically (i still had a headache after hanging out), the emotional benefits can still be reaped. 

it's also so lovely to do something with someone who knows what they're doing! i had no idea what ramps were before today, though i once having them pointed out to me, i recognized them as something i've seen a lot recently, that felt very spring-like to me with their vibrant green and supple appearance. once i knew what they were, we saw them everywhere! the air that wafted through the forest smelled incredible from the sheer quantity of them. birdsong also filled the air, and we talked about how birdsong feels relaxing because subconsciously we recognize that it must mean a lack of predators or danger in the area. (a few hours later, cooking with my fiancé in the kitchen, i told him i love when he's silly; that it feels like birdsong to me). 

we ended up only having an hour-ish to spare, as we had to get home, drop our dog off, then get to church on time. which we did! sometimes it's tempting to skip out on potential plans if you don't have much time to spare, but an hour was so much better than nothing. 

the forest was generally much prettier than this, but the silly graffiti is what got me to take out my phone and snap a photo. so berlin, unfortunately