The last few days, I've found myself lost in reveries of my childhood. And no matter how hard I try to deny it, those were the happiest days of my life and will remain so.

Where I grew up in Seoul, Korea was an odd juxtaposition of the rural and the suburban. It had its share of cars, fastfood restaurants, apartment complexes, and tutoring academies. A few months before I immigrated, I remember witnessing a budding multi-city construction project that would install a public railway system across several mini-cities.

But what I remember most about my childhood is my interaction with Mother Nature. The four seasons came to knock on my door every year, and even as a toddler, I could immediately tell one guest from the other. The transition between winter and spring always enchanted me. I knew that spring had arrived when I woke up in the morning to the scent of growth, trees clothing themselves in green and fresh dirt softening from a light drizzle.

Autumn was my favorite season because the dragonflies came. Actually, they came in the summer, but they were always too busy and alert for my dragonfly net. It was when yellow and red imbued the hillside that the game began. The hills were my playground. From my house, it was about a 15 minute climb to the highlands. The world above had mainly grass, trees, and flowers. But the plain was huge, large enough to accommodate soccer fields, basketball courts, and some exercise equipment. It was the greatest gift a boy could have.

Grasshoppers, butterflies, and ladybugs were plentiful in the autumn, but it was the dragonflies that captivated me. I had a dragonfly net (small supermarkets sold them, they are long sticks with a net at one end), and I went every day to the hills for several years to catch dragonflies. I think that catching the first dragonfly, a gentle one with a bright red tail and translucent wings, was the happiest moment of life. At the end of the day, though, I always released the dragonflies back into the wild from my insect cage. I never took its life.

Nature has a way of soothing the human soul. Lakes and streams fill the ear with gentle murmurs. Mountain air cleanses the lungs and breathes life into the body. I am blessed to have grown up with nature's nourishment. If I could have one wish, I would have those hills again, next to my apartment in La Palma. Oh, and it would be a hell of a hangout for friends and couples.