Woods and Wilds

I have always preferred being outside to being inside. The inside of my youth veered between angry voices or the silent treatment while the outside offered freedom. An opportunity to go wherever I wanted without recriminations. The natural world became a place I could escape to, where I was allowed to be me without expectations. A balm for my hurting soul. They say early trauma never entirely leaves you despite the work you do to erase the effects. So maybe that is why all these years I have leaned into nature, embracing it as it has embraced me.

Thankfully the natural world was close at hand when I was growing up and the mindset of the day was to set kids lose to go play outside. From farm fields with tall meadows and ponds to a neighborhood woodlot, I formed connections with the wilds around me. Building forts out of bramble, scooping tiny tadpoles from ponds, traversing trails that led to secret unknowns or simply being. Not having an agenda, just having my senses wide open as I investigated and interacted with what I discovered outdoors.

My first “big” experience with nature came alongside Blue Lake in the Canadian Lakes area of Michigan. My parents had bought property there and we’d go visit a week at a time to camp in the woods without electricity or water. It was a pretty remote area and we appeared to be the only human inhabitants on the lake so it was a total nature immersion exercise, creating a lifelong love of camping for me. A love so deep that I still crave sleeping in a tent, enjoying the increased closeness to nature. Maybe too sleeping in a tent with only a thin wall or screen separating me from the outdoors is why I enjoy the extremes of weather, snowstorms and thunderstorms, or the hard wind blowing, making me feel more alive.

Wilderness State Park

It is amazing how the sensory experiences of your youth imprint on you and become a constant you desire all your remaining days. That is why Richard Louv in his book “The Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficient Disorder” talks about how important it is to get young children outside to discover the natural world. For without those experiences, the connection to nature may never be made and without that connection, young people grow up without understanding how important it is to preserve the natural world. Or they may grow up without having an understanding of the benefits nature can bring into their lives. Missing out on the ability to discover themselves in freedom or missing out on forming memories from the nature experiences they encounter.

Nature has told me many stories over the years because I have been willing to sit and listen. Explained to me why my life unfolded the way it did and helped me rewrite some of the harder chapters. Made me feel beautiful when others didn’t. Helped repair hard spots when nothing else could. Native Americans and ancient Celts listened to the story of the land and drew upon its wisdom in much this same way. Many people today would benefit by leaning in to the teachings of the natural world. To sit outside and ponder what nature may be trying to tell you about your life. It can be a joyful, meaningful path to embrace the wilds and soon enough, it will embrace you, making you feel complete just the way you are.