The person who is constantly seen on social media out living the dream: kayaking, hiking, sleeping under the stars, finding new views, photo ops with amazing creatures…Basically just embracing nature.
We've all seen that guy or gal. One might label him an outdoor enthusiast. A nature lover. An adventurer. A wander-lusting soul.
I know one personally. He spends every free moment he has in nature. He would rather be outside, away from civilization than anywhere else. He is the first person I think of when I hear "one with nature". I asked him how he would define himself. I anticipated a great answer,
"If I had to put it in one word, I'm human. People need nature in their life. It's where we come from. I enjoy the primal wilderness over the congested concrete jungles we cram ourselves into. Those titles are just titles placed on people that see this truth by those who are lost in the chaos that is society."
It's obvious that someone who loves the natural world to this degree would have a certain mindset. I asked him what it was he craved in this life.
"I crave to explore and travel. Let my mind be shaped by many different people, places, and ideas. Rather than confining myself to a single subset of people living nearly the same lives, with the same views, in the same geographical location. I definitely gravitate towards nature for those reasons. I feel trapped within the city. Afraid to be like everyone else. Nature's an escape. I love to travel but it's not possible right now for me to do it 24/7. I'm working on that. So in between travels, I get lost in the woods."
I then asked him what it was about nature that drew him into it.
It's where we come from. We are nature. I'm just super passionate about it. There's beauty, death, power. Everything we find within nature we can also find within ourselves. Nature makes you feel small when you're looking up at a giant pine or massive cliff face. It makes you feel like a grand being when looking down at the insects or the flowers. It makes you feel weak when you're being swept down a river, but strong when you reach the summit of a mountain. It makes you feel all these things but those feelings are nothing compared to the synergistic power of everything. It gives you the insight to understand everything is a part of a whole and you are a part of that whole—the universe.
I had to ask about what he brings when he decides to spend time in nature, whether for a day or for a week.
Having, or having the means to find, food, water, and shelter are a must. Having companions is also a must. Sharing the understanding I have for nature with other people is a way to inspire and bring to light the beauty that most fail to realize. However, sometimes it is also necessary to give yourself to the wild, free and alone.
The last question I asked him was what he wished people would see about nature. What would he like to see become true when it comes to people and nature?
We live in a world where we're destroying nature. The way we live is in need of radical change. Massive societal change. We destroy nature and we destroy ourselves. We can't change the world as individuals, but we can change ourselves to match the view we have for the world. A greater understanding of nature will help create a better world for everyone. You can't understand nature and not understand the perils we face as a species associated with our relationship to the natural world.
An insightful look at the wander-lusting, craving-a-change soul. I hope these words have inspired you to take another look at nature and even explore it for yourself.
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Special thanks to Annachie Plemmons.