To me nature is about healing and returning to our roots.
Like many, at the beginning of this pandemic I was not prepared for the implications of being locked indoors for months at a time, separated from the outside world. At first I enjoyed this as I tend to enjoy solitude, but it quickly became an anchor for negativity to attach itself to, whether that be noticing little things you wouldn’t before because of being stuck in the same environment or simply just feeling awful for no reason other than you feel awful.
Like a lot of people I’ve seen and heard from recently I decided I needed to make a change and the first thing I attached to was the outdoors, the reason for this is while stuck inside and basically being told I couldn’t be outside because of the pandemic it triggered this borderline anxiety that I needed to be outdoors.
So that’s what I’ve started to do and I’ve began my healing process to find a new healthy normal for myself and those around me through the outdoors and hiking. We started doing day hikes around south eastern and northern Wisconsin and have now opllanned a trip to the Smokies to go for a 3-4 day backpacking trip to really get back in nature.
Ive realized as I sate my thirst for the outdoors I’m helping heal my mind and my anxieties and depression I’ve built up since the beginning g of quarantine. While it may not be the answer for all I truly believe it’s a good starting point for those who may be feeling like their life is “missing” something, and for me that was the outdoors and connecting with nature again.
I wanna also say thank you to Alex and those involved in your productions because they helped me to truly commit myself to venturing back to the outdoors for the first time since my childhood.
The attached photos are along the escarpment trail at Lake of the Clouds in porcupine mountains in Michigan. A must see for any in the northern Midwest if you ask me.
(One funny pic for the laughs because it’s important to still be yourself in nature too.)
