Nature Calling You Home...

Walking alone in the woods on a trail not too far from the terminus of the Appalachian Trail, I could feel something pulling at me. As I traveled along a dirt path, making my way toward a bunkhouse where I would spend the night, I stood in awe of the towering trees and the wildflowers nodding their heads at me. Lichen on the trees, creeks flowing and birds overhead. A feeling of being at home washed over me. As though I belonged there in those woods.

A year later, I returned to those same woods, bringing my husband along and the year after that, we included our sons. Each time I traveled that path, I felt a connection unlike any I had felt before and I was surprised to learn just recently that my sons and husbands had felt that same sort of special connection when they traveled into that same magical place.

What made those woods so special that they spoke to each of us in that way? What set it apart from other natural areas we had traveled to? I feel it was the result of total immersion in the forest for a period of days without the distractions of the modern world. We left our screens and material possessions behind and traded them in for the stillness and quiet of the wilderness, connecting with something outside ourselves but still very much part of us. The air, the soil, the water...learning a new language, a language of the land, as we walked along.

Because we are nature we belong there in the woods more than we do in front of our TV's or walking along a sidewalk in town. We have come from nature and today modern man has lost his way, material goods separating us from ourselves. As we spend time purchasing I-Phones and computers and other gadgets we are simply trying to fill the void we feel by being separated from nature. A simple walk in the woods would fix what we are seeking. Next time you feel like something is missing in your life, head to the forest and feel the pull of the wild calling you home...