I hiked for awhile, meditating as I walked, breathing in and relaxing my brain. I could feel the aches and pains and stresses work their way from my body with each inhalation. I took in the bare trees like skeletal fingers, I lapped up the fresh air and I let my soul breathe as well. I sat for a time, watching a family of squirrels chase each other in the trees, then after enough time, a sly orange fox revealed itself among the decaying leaves. He tramped off and out of sight before I started up again. A clearing soon offered itself up as a perfect little campsite, and I unpacked, clearing the ground first before setting up my tent. I layered my sleeping bag with a heavy farmhouse wool blanket and stashed my pack before setting out in search of firewood.
Something settled over me, or in me rather. Something powerful, something like belonging, as if this was the right place at the right time and that all was perfect. The trials and troubles of modern civilization can tax a person to the bone, and without meaningful time spent in nature, how can one reconnect? It’s so easy to lose your way in this fast-paced manic world we live in, and if you don’t take the time to slow down to appreciate the tiny things, the finer details, and the origins of life itself, then you can lose yourself in the madness, and you can lose track of what’s truly important. A lot of people lose track of reality and what’s truly real when being constantly surrounded by the city, and constantly bombarded by the schedule of the 9 to 5. It is the time I spend outdoors that heals me, that keeps me grounded, and sane.
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Article written by Brandon Scott
(Top photo by user 141207866@N08 via Flickr)