Voices: Exhausted by politics? Find the beauty in travel, nature

"And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.” — America the Beautiful

As the nation crawls to Election Day on Tuesday amid scandals, name-calling and political exhaustion, I’d like to change the subject.

Just for a moment, be in awe of the blue whirl.

The blue whirl was first observed in a University of Maryland laboratory. Scientists were recently experimenting to see whether they could harness a fire whirl — a tornado of fire — to burn an oil spill cleanly.

Suddenly, in the darkened lab, a blue ring of fire surrounded the yellow whirl and hovered there, like a ring around a spinning top. Blue means complete combustion. Researchers were thrilled. The blue whirl, which nobody had ever reported seeing before, may someday be used to vanquish oil spills.

The discovery of the blue whirl made me unreasonably happy, because I’m a huge science buff.

But mostly, I just found the blue whirl beautiful.

Enjoy the journey

This week, as our human problems and conflicts roll on, I’d like to encourage you to spend some time with nature’s beautiful things. Travel if you can to somewhere that makes you happy. If you can’t travel, at least go outside.

Why? Beautiful things and the joy they give us are more powerful than despair. They also are healing. One recent Japanese study found that a simple 15-minute walk in the woods caused a huge drop in stress hormones.

So don’t just glare at the TV. Go through old picture albums or photo files of all your trips and smile about the fun times you’ve had and beautiful places you’ve been.

Take yourself to a national park and absorb the grand wonders there. Visit your favorite painting at your local museum. Run along a scenic path. Book a last-minute trip to Paris. Go through travel brochures to plan your next family trip to Florida, or your next cruise, or that trip to your daughter’s house to see the new baby. Get in the car and drive until you feel anxiety falling away. Breathe. Walk in the woods.

This land is your land

It's comforting to remember that whatever mischief humans cook up, our country is not just about politics. We are a big, wondrous nation of great people. All that jazz about spacious skies, amber waves of grain and purple mountains’ majesty? It’s all true.

That's why I believe so strongly in the power of travel to make us better people.

Whatever journeys you can afford, whatever makes you feel alive and happy, do it today. And Tuesday. And keep looking for beautiful things on the day after Election Day, when we will all wake up and go on with our lives, and the Earth will keep turning, and miracles like the blue whirl will still be out there waiting to be discovered.

Follow Ellen Creager on Twitter: @ellencreager