The simple things in life that are amazing and overlooked

I live in an area where I got a LOT of scenery. More than I could ever ask for. Of course, I wouldn't say no to having waterfalls or mountains but we've got pretty much everything else. What I love is being able to walk around downtown Chicago. Like someone else said, it's an unappreciated art form, the city that is. I like the experience of talking with some of the homeless people there - a lot of them have some pretty interesting things to say, and no, it's not just "change change change." The sounds of the city are also interesting. It's almost more serene than out in the country where I live, but idk, maybe I'm more effective at filtering out the noise and bringing all the sounds together than someone who constantly has to live with those annoyances.

On really nice days I always walk about 25 minutes away from my house into an old field that my grandpa owns and just lie down in the grass and look at the sky. Its the most relaxing activity I can ever do. I don't' just shut aside stress when I do that, my stress just literally melts away. It's so liberating.

I've got a forest out back to go walking in any time I want, with a little swampy area with lots of fun little islands created by the tree roots that are fun to hop back and forth between, just to see how far out I can get.

But the most relaxing and enjoyable activity for me, ever, is to sit out on my front porch with thunder and lightning rumbling in the distance (at night), and the rain in a steady downpour, wind blowing a bit to bring a fine mist in. It's just as cool when the storm is right over me, but not relaxing, ya know? Pretty much the only time I'm ever in a genuinely good mood is when the weather is bad outside.

Jam it back in, in the dark.