#Rewildyourlife

Having felt a little disconnected from the natural world recently, think early morning and evening dog walks in the dark, I signed up to We are Wildness. The lighter evenings of Spring seemed an ideal opportunity to take time to appreciate new nature. We  are Wildness is an excellent online community which shares stunning photography, thought provoking bloggs and leaves you wanting to get out there.

I’m not usually one for organised “sports” but was tempted by the Rewild your Life 30 day challenge. Part of the WAW online “university”, I paid my $9 registration fee and entered a brave new world.

I have seen the world through different people’s eyes: from back gardens and balconies to horse trails through the Andes. Family picnics in rocky English smuggling coves to rattle snakes in the dry and arid desert. All have a new focus each day.

Skying, bare foot wandering, listening, touch, giving yourself permission (to do what is your personal quest) are just a few of the daily tasks thus far.

A vast array of humanity is participating and that’s what makes it so special. I have made contact with many people from across the globe, Californian spiritualists and Australian grandmothers included. However, despite our very obvious differences, we all live under the same sky.

A week in and I have started to reconnect. The best therapy around for $9.

Why walking is the ideal speed to see the world

Extreme hiker Sarah Marquis explains how pain gives way to pleasure during a 500-mile trek through the wilderness.

Source: Why walking is the ideal speed to see the world

The Drowned Forest

Blackness pours from the gunwhales and portholes,

Surrounding the voyager.

Ropes of ghostly moonlight coil spiralling to the watery landscape beneath.

As a seabed, the coniferous forest floor emerges from the darkest depths.

Wreckage: bowline branches which floated above the surface,

Lay twisted, bent, broken.

Bleached by the phases of the moon, the bones contort,

Loom large in the gloom.

They will never be mainmasts, lost like empty binnacles.

 

 

Blowing through

Exposed granite is honest: winds have rounded its jagged edges, surface adornments of lichen and moss stand no chance here.

Artifice is lost, there is no deception, no smiling or beguiling whilst offering the weighed down walker an easier route. All is laid bare, no promises are made. What you see is what you get.

And yet, as the rain ceases and the blackness of the curtained sky is blown through, the stone’s surface sparkles and glitters in the new light: seducing us with its contract of power, knowledge and endurance.

Yesterday, I stood by the lake.

Before the disturbance of stick in water and barking of the black dog, all was silent. The peace surrounded us and the molten autumnal sunshine dripped over the shore. The surface of the lake beckoned weary travellers to it. Transfixed, I watched a flock of Canada geese make their final descent. With all the clunkiness and mechanism of an air craft, they lowered their legs in an ungainly dance. A v of skis ready for impact. All of this happened within twenty feet of me and my canine companion. With front row seats to such a spectacle, I applauded joyfully as all made an exhausted landing and I left a different person.