Longing For The Wilderness

Each and every morning I get to walk my dogs in a beautiful country setting. A far cry from where we were living just a short time ago. Living in the City of San Leandro, with it’s constant threat of crime being perpetrated, the endless noise of automobiles, sirens and the guns shots that rang out in the night air. I hated that place and dreamed of the wilderness.

The country road we now walk is surrounded by oaks, sycamores and buckeyes, with pastures and rolling hills leading upward to the hillside ridges. Each morning we would take our first steps into nature, experiencing the beginning of a new day when the sun begins showing it’s presence, slowly rising above the crest of the foothills. The creek that once was flowing with water from the winter rains is now a dry creek bed that runs along side the road. The green velvety grasses that covered the pastures and hillsides are now a golden brown. Summer is here.

The season has changed from spring to summer before we knew it. We have been experiencing unusually hotter days so early in the season due to climate change. Something Americans seems not to want to really except fully and what it will mean for human kind and for all life on this planet we call Earth.

While I am writing this, I wondered where we came up with the name Earth for our planet and of course , I googled it and this is what I found:

“All of the planets, except for Earth, were named after Greek and Roman gods and godesses. The name Earth is an English/German name which simply means the ground. It comes from the Old English words ‘eor(th)e’ and ‘ertha’. In German it is ‘erde’. The name Earth is at least 1000 years old.”

Source by – Cool Cosmos

If we think of the name of our planet that represents dirt, it does not seem so romantic, but I think most like the name. At least I do. I don’t think we think of it as just a sphere of dirt, and in fact it is so much more. It is a world that is mostly seen as blue oceans covering the globe from distant space. We have been given a place to live that we call home with so much diversity it staggers the mind and imagination, if we think about it.

In our place in the country, new life has emerged, from the young ground squirrels scampering across the road to the many young fawns clinging to their mother’s protection. The wild turkey are active as are the many birds in our area. One being my friend, the Acorn Woodpecker. The many cows that grazed on the hillsides and pastures are mostly gone, but for a few stragglers that missed the truck ride to the slaughter house. My dogs were fascinated with them and the cows being the same. They would have loved to chase those cows. I saw a beauty seeing them scattered throughout the hillsides.

On these walks I am always grateful for these experiences – being out in nature with my dogs and at the same time, longing for the wilderness, a longing for a long lost love. Some day we will be in the wilderness once again.

I have been fortunate enough to feel a deep connection to nature. I have always loved being in nature, but never respected nature for much of my life. I used her for my own gratification. I now have a deep reverence for her and this respect grew from my learning and practicing survival skills and bush skills and learning the relationship traditional indigenous cultures had had with the natural world, the spirit world and the land.

On our walks into nature, I spend time honoring and giving thanks to what nature, what Mother Earth provides to us. It is something none of us should take lightly, but sadly we do.

She provides us with incredible, natural beauty and the essentials to sustain life as long as we respect her – and there is no charge. All she wants is a little respect. My walks are always with humility, and reverence for nature. I begin my walks with gratitude and thanks by giving thanks to:

I give thanks to the Sun who provides us with light, warmth and energy.

I give thanks to the Moon for keeping us firm on the ground and the beauty she gives us at night.

I give thanks to the Universe for her magnificent and awesome vastness.

I give thanks to the Earth for all she provides for us.

I give thanks to the Air we breathe, because without it we would not be alive. For also giving us the wonderful scents of nature we get to breathe in with each breath.

I give thanks for the Water that is the life’s blood for all life. Without her, life could not exist. She gives us the beauty of mountain lakes, the powerful oceans, the mighty rivers and the soothing streams. She quenches our thirst, she can refresh us on hot days and cleanse our body. The sounds of the oceans and streams can calm our soul.

I give thanks for Fire that keeps us warm, for light and the welcoming flame during the darkness of night, to help keep us dry and for cooking our food.

I give thanks to the Rocks that creates the magical beauty in the mountains and hillsides, and the beauty of the stones she creates.

I give thanks for all the incredible and beautiful Animals we share this planet with and for the food they provide to us. Providing us with tools, clothing and shelter. And the wonders of the very creation of life we get to see and experience. I give thanks to the mammals, the birds, the fish, the reptiles, the insects and the creatures that are unseen.

I give thanks to the Trees for their vast varieties, for their beauty, and for what the trees provide for us. I give thanks for the oxygen they give to life, the food and medicine they provide, for providing fuel for fire, to give us shelter, tools and clothing.

I give thanks for the Plants that provide us with food, medicines, tinder for fire starting, for cordage, for shelters and simply for the beauty and smells they give to us.

Now, for me, the things I give thanks to as I have listed above does focus on using nature for survival and living in nature. I also hope the reader realizes we cannot survive without nature and a healthy natural environment. Giving thanks to our natural world helps us have a deeper connection with all life, thus we will do everything to protect her and not to harm her.

When we sit in silence observing nature, she will magically open up to us and begin to teach us about truth – what is real and not real in our very distorted world today. You may see two whales breaching together, when those around you are oblivious to them; or you may observe a beautiful and vibrant flower and she bids you to come closer so she can teach you about life; or seeing a single droplet on the tip of a pine needle that shows us much more about our world; or you may look up towards the night sky in awe of the wonders of the universe. I truly believe nature can teach about life if we allow her to. These example I have listed above are just a few of the many experience I have been fortunate enough to experience in nature and has impacted my life in unbelievable ways. Nature is my church and my religion.

A person who I highly respect and admire is Ray Mears. Ray teaches bush craft skills and has had many programs on the BBC about Bush Craft. His love and respect for nature and for indigenous cultures are apparent. When Ray is in nature, his awareness is finely tuned to his surroundings. When he is in a canoe for example, he is one with the canoe and one with the water and one with everything around him. On one of his shows he was walking in some mud flats on the shore of the River Thames looking at dead trees over 6000 years old. He observed the types of trees (the species) and followed other signs he might find in his discovery. This exploration took him back to his ancestors some 6000 years ago and how they may have lived. How many people would get that excited walking in the mud with a bunch of dead matter and dead trees? Ray would. It says something about this man and his love for the natural world. He is a true naturalist.

As with Ray Mears, I feel very strongly about the importance of protecting traditional indigenous cultures and their traditional ways of life. We can learn from these cultures how we can once again connect and respect nature. And once you truly experience nature you will not want to come back to a life that is so disconnected with nature. You will truly experience real magic.