Commute to Commune: Connecting with Nature on a Busy Workday

There have been a couple of changes since I last wrote.  Autumn has arrived with its array of colors and banks of fog (no rain yet, strangely).  Also, I have a new job in a new city, and that means something in my days that I was lacking previously:  a commute.

Which is not to say that I did not need to drive to work previously.  But my old job took me into the city of Victoria, whereas my new job is in Duncan, which means my commute now contains what is probably one of the most beautiful sections of highway in North America:  The Malahat Drive.

As I've settled into my new routine over the last few weeks, I've begun to notice changes in the scenery as autumn begins to come on strong: leaves changing and falling; sun being lower in the sky each day; etc.  And as I noticed these things, I realized that my commute, of all things, was connecting me to nature and the outdoors more than anything else in my workday.

It seems odd, until you realize that being in a car is often the closest thing people get in a workday to being outside.  And although many people hate commuting for the time it eats up, I no longer do.  It only took a change of perspective:  I don't have an hour-long commute.  I get an hour-long drive through the country every day.

So embrace your commute!  Even the densest urban jungle has nature coming in through the cracks and out of the sky.  Notice it.  Connect with it.  It's probably going to be your only chance all day.