‘Bob, slow down. There is no rush… Be like me…
I’m in no rush.’
The space that nature provides gives rise to deep peace in my mind and body – it fills me with stillness. Then I go back into the world saner, happier and reconnected to the Earth.
One of the biggest gifts of nature is the space it holds for us to turn to, a place of calm and peace. It helps us re-source, re-locate and plug-in to our innate ability to be still. We have this idea, or we have been taught, that we are separate from nature, but what is forgotten is that we came from nature! And we will return to it when we die.
Why do we separate ourselves so much from nature? We must learn how to connect with it more, to respect it, to not be scared of feeling it. This is the perspective that needs to change for a lot of us – especially for us men! It is my firm belief that the often male-driven attitude of ‘progress at all costs’ is responsible for so much of why this planet is in an increasingly fragile state. This notion that we are separate from nature is what’s causing this. Think fracking, oil-drilling, phone masts going up everywhere, landfill, plastic-filled oceans, polluted waters. It’s time to heal all this!!
If we heal the separation and learn how to be in tune with nature, then we can work with it rather than against it. I feel this is the message of the times we are stepping into. Will you join me in working with nature and not against it?
CHAPTER 4
REWILDING
Many of us are searching for our wildness these days. More and more of us don’t want to be living ‘civilized’ and tame lives. We want to be wild again.
Society is over-civilizing us and we are sensing it. This ‘civilizing’ of us can be traumatizing, because we’re not civilized – we’re WILD! On some level we’re hunter-gatherers still, and this is an important part of us. It’s who we’ve been since the beginning of time – it’s in our roots. The amount of time we’ve been living in so-called civilized society is a mere speck in comparison to the amount of time we have been hunting, gathering and living off the land. It’s important that we don’t lose this part of us. I don’t know about you but there is definitely a wild hunter deep down inside of me, eager to be set free and expressed. It’s the part of me that can think for myself; it’s sharp, alert, intelligent, primal and untamable! This is a very powerful part of us. And we all have it. Whether we know it or not...
This is a good time to be refinding our wildness, and a lot of people are. There is a ‘rewilding movement’ growing alongside the Slow Living Movement. They go hand in hand. There is power in our wildness – energy, wisdom, goodness, simplicity and new awareness of what we feel to be ‘missing’ in our lives. When we get in touch with our wildness we wake up dormant qualities in ourselves, qualities that our devices and too much screen time serve to numb. We must ensure these qualities don’t get lost; there is huge joy in rediscovering these deep primal instincts still within us.
I’m talking about things like the ability to tap into and use your primal instinct, your intuition. Instead of rushing headlong into something, just stop. Take a moment. Is your gut instinct telling you it’s right or wrong? Listen to it.
Another quality so often ‘squashed’ in today’s busy world is the simple ability to think for ourselves. To become aware of our actions and decisions every day. Don’t just blindly follow the crowd or do what you think society expects of you. Take a moment to really decide for yourself.
And following on from this is the ability to know ourselves more deeply and to use this knowledge to make powerful change in our lives. Simplifying your life, spending time in nature and opening up to your wildness will connect you with, well, yourself. You will lead your best authentic life and not just be swept along with the crowd.
Try some rewilding for yourself – go and camp for a night or two, in a tent, in the wild. Build a campfire, cook your food on it and listen to the bird-sounds at night.
Simplify.
And alongside rewilding ourselves, there is a desperate need for our planet to be rewilded, as much as humanly possible. We must stop stripping the Earth of its life-giving forests and mindlessly turning over too much land to agriculture. Trees and forests need to be replanted to protect our precious resources. Even on an individual level we can help make a difference, by leaving part of our garden, if we have one, to grow wild and free. There are so many benefits to doing something like this – we support our local flora and fauna, feel good about doing so, and get the benefits already mentioned of interacting more closely with nature itself.
The best things in life are free
We live in a world that seems to teach us that experiences need to be bought and paid for. My experience is that the best things in life are free – the things that can’t be bought. Rewilding yourself – spending more time in nature – as part of the process of simplifying your life certainly falls into this category.
The act of slowing down allows us to become really present to everything around us, to the natural world and our fellow human beings. We get to experience the simple, majestic and awesome beauty of life, and all the little magic things that it has to offer. The problem I see is that many of us are too busy to actually notice these little moments, yet it is these moments that are the real treasures in life.
When we slow down and start to heal we can notice the simple things. We can take so much pleasure from the simple rustling of leaves in the trees on a windy day, watching a child playing or witnessing the dazzle of sunlight on a lake’s surface. When we rush along in our busy lives, our minds become so cluttered that we can’t focus on the sheer beauty of life that is all around us.
SOME OF MY FAVOURITE FREE THINGS ARE:
• Hugs
• Wild food
• Chats with mates
• Wild swimming
• Looking at butterflies dancing around the flowers in the summertime
• Stargazing on a clear night
• Walks in nature
• Making LOVE. Surely the best free thing out there!
My dad brought me up with the saying: ‘The best things in life are free.’ I used to think this was a cheesy cliché, but as I heal and my consciousness changes, and as I drop more and more out of my busy head and into my body, I notice more of what is all around me. The little things, the simple things, the subtleties and the beauty. The things that don’t cost anything – they are just here...
It’s about getting present to what’s around us. It is easy to forget. Nature will help you remember. Dad was right – the best things in life are free.
9 TIPS FOR REWILDING YOURSELF
1. Spend some time outside in nature every day. This seems obvious but it is easy to slip into bad habits: you get up, get in a vehicle of some kind to go to work, sit at a desk all day and go home. Even 5 minutes spent in a garden or park daily connects you with nature and has a hugely restorative effect.
2. Get in tune with the seasons by eating seasonal, local food whenever possible. Take this a step further by going foraging. There is plenty of info online about this and free food is available year round. You could find leaves and herbs, garlic and mushrooms, nuts and berries and, if you’re by the sea, cockles, mussels and samphire. Yum!