There are very few places/environments in the world where I can personally say I am truly relaxed, however those places are mostly massive in size. Those places are the forests, woods, and lakes of the world. They are the places where mankind's machines and ambitions have not touched. Where no technology can be found except for those who bring it when they visit themselves. These wonderful places where the sky is not clouded by the natural haze emitted by the lights that cities so dearly rely on. A place where the only sounds one may hear is not the roar of thunderous machines rolling down unnatural ground, but instead the howls of wolves prowling the night for their prey. Instead of the constant bickering and screams of humans, one would instead hear the chattering of rambunctious squirrels and songs of birds among the trees. They are environments of tranquility, of wonder, and of life. There in the forest away from civilization or the woods within the suburbs, or even the gentle lake is where I can relax and think deeply about the world. While I'm there I can inhale the scent of pine trees that are unlike any Christmas tree, listen to the world as it was first created, not what we have turned it into, and feel the natural warmth of the world in the earth instead of the sunbaked warmth of asphalt and concrete. In the woods I can sit upon the nearest tree and allow nature to wash over all of my senses and while this is happening I can think on whatever I desire without worry of sudden interruption. While my pencil scratches against the paper, forming out the latest fantasy or fiction that has come to mind or fleshing out the details of a drawing that was inspired by the environment I resided in, my mind can stay clear and focus solely on the matter at hand instead of the common day worldly troubles. In the forest I could sit in the cool shade of the trees and just think. Examine the world in its more natural lighting and compare it to the world that I had grown to know so well. Reach a state of such silence and tranquility that it would seem I was the very tree I laid upon and so the animals would continue their natural lifestyle, unwary of the human residing among them. Then finally the lake where I can experience what I experience in the woods/forest yet still be completely different. For at the lake I can let the silence wash over me both metaphorically and literally. At the lake I could choice to both lie upon the lakeside and contemplate the life around me or I can plunge into the water, legs kicking and arms swinging, to clear away all thoughts in my mind. To make the only focus in my mind be two questions; to where should I swim and how long will it take me to get there?