Nature

I've never been a big nature person, but in Sweden you can't help it. The country is gorgeous. It's easy to understand why so many Swedes enjoy being out in the countryside. It's calm and majestic.



It somehow seems different than nature in Texas. It's serene. Texas is home to several species that sting and bite and harass. In Sweden, nature seems more friendly (if it's possible for a country to have friendly nature). It just doesn't seem as aggressive. It won't intentionally come after you. Normally.


Of course, I might change my mind if I got caught in a swarm of mosquitoes or met an angry bear in the forests of Sweden. But that hasn't happened yet. So, in my mind, Swedish nature is more tame.



Me admitting that I like nature would come as a surprise to people who know me, as I sometimes say, "There's too much nature around here". And by that, I mean the aggressive kind, like fire ants or brown recluse spiders or killer bees or rattlesnakes.



Butterflies and birds and rabbits are fine by me. Flying cockroaches the size of my hand are not. And this is why I like Swedish nature. It's simple. Less complicated. And a tad less scary.



I know. I am being too hard on Texas nature. It has incredible sights too: rich sunsets, expansive skies, wildflowers blooming everywhere, scenic beaches, and more. I just can't fully enjoy those things when something is trying to pick me up and carry me off into the night, like the bats that circle my house every night trying to pick off the dragonflies.

But back to Sweden. I was never in awe of anything having to do with nature until I went to Sweden. My family and I went fishing and camping and all that jazz when I was younger. It all seemed boring to me as a kid. I was not impressed. But I finally understood it when I visited Sweden for the first time. Here was a nature with vibrant sights, and sounds, and colors. Here was a more harmonious nature. A cleaner, less messy nature. I almost thought I had landed in Eden instead of Sweden.



There is no way to describe the beauty of this country. It is stunning. You must simply go there to appreciate it. It cannot be captured in words or pictures.


Maybe it's not nature itself that's so different, but the mindset toward nature. In Sweden, nature is blended into the cultural fabric, whereas American culture tends to want to contain it. And maybe a nature that's less contained makes for a happier, less aggressive sort.

Or maybe I just haven't met an angry moose.

Go to Sweden. See the country for yourself. And be left breathless.