“As long as I live, I’ll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I’ll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I’ll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.”
- John Muir
Due to life’s circumstances it looks like I might be city locked while my wife recovers from a much needed surgery. Back country outings are one of my favorite pastimes. Something I yearn for often and especially as the season starts to cool off. So while lamenting my “misfortune” (while simultaneously grateful for my soulmate’s return to health) I figured I’d make my down time useful and share with you some of my theories as to why spending time in the wild outdoors is so important.
By now many of you may have heard of the various therapies based on spending time in nature. From the Japanese Shinrin-Yoku (forest bathing) popularized in the 1980’s to the various pseudo-scientific practices that sprouted up through the 90’s such as grounding. While all have anecdotal evidence backing them up and Japanese forest bathing practices have several scientific studies backing them up it is hardly a new practice. A simple look into various aboriginal practices such as Native American vision quests or Australian Aboriginal walk abouts and we get a glimpse into that yearning. This yearning perhaps was the impetus behind the golden age of camping and hiking of the 19th & early 20th centuries. A deep yearning for a return to a more natural state.
I personally believe that man was designed to participate with nature and that our current domesticated state in the human zoo’s we now live in is in large part the source of much of our distress. Part of the theory behind Shinrin Yoku’s efficacy is that it helps rewire the nervous system back to the way it’s supposed to be. Some believe it’s the return to a more natural schedule that helps reset our circadian rhythms, our body clock if you will. Others believe it’s the getting away from EMF’s and blue light that’s doing the trick. Others yet will tell you that it’s the exposure to natural sunlight and the clean air that resets the human body. I believe that all of these are contributors, along with the withdrawal from artificial stressors of work, commuting in the city, and our often debt-based lifestyles. Also I truly believe that exposure to sunlight and clean air are essential forms of natural alimentation and I will take it a step further by saying forest air carries additional nutrients in the form of various pollens and other plant chemicals we breathe in and absorb through the lungs. A natural form of aromatherapy if you will. But the most powerful benefit I believe comes from its form!
What do I mean by form? Perhaps the best way to explain it is by comparing and contrasting the environment in which we currently live to the wild natural environment. The city is what I call an aggressive environment. Full of monochromatic color schemes, right angles, and directional instructions. Lots of light pollution, sound pollution, and marketing. All competing for your attention. Because of all of these controls in the city it is possible to get in your car and go from point a to point b completely on mental autopilot. Everything is designed for comfort. Flat level side walks make it easy and unchallenging to walk. Airconditioned buildings keep you from ever challenging your bodies temperature autoregulating mechanisms. In the city we can actually live without ever acclimating to the changing seasons! All of our primal survival requirements are taken care of in the city. Food comes from the store and water from the wall. We may not even be aware of the time of day because of artificial light and walls without windows.
Contrast all that with the natural environment, what I call a passive environment. Why passive? Because it isn’t telling you what to do. If you don’t pay attention to where you are walking you may get lost or even injured. There is no sign telling you cliff ahead or this bush is poison ivy. It is emotionally neutral. It doesn’t do your thinking for you. It forces you to focus your attention outwardly into the environment. This in turn makes your brain sharper, stronger, and more creative. Things change from day to day, season to season and year to year forcing you to adapt or die. A rut is something unnatural in the wild outdoors. Such a selfish practice could only exist in the farms we call cities.
Everything in nature is information. You can smell the rain coming, or hear a predator, or evens its prey as it escapes or calls out to its flock. The colors on the landscape can vary dramatically or not at all and that will mean something too! The simple act of walking in nature will offer you dramatically larger amounts of information than in the city as the changing levels, and textures challenge the various sensory organs in your joints and spinal column while sending positional information to your brain. Anyone who’s every walked in nature for a while no doubt has noticed how limber they feel afterwards. Without the joint pains often associated with walking on the non-giving concrete as each step becomes an impact reverberating through out your body.
To sum it up best I guess the key difference between aggressive and passive environments is freedom. In the natural or passive-environment you are free to move about and create your life. Success is not guaranteed but you aren’t condemned to failure either. In the urban or aggressive-environment you may experience a form of success if you conform or work exceptionally hard. You also have more idle time much of which is being stolen by those who wish to profit from it. For most of us I think its almost impossible to avoid the urban life but that certainly doesn’t mean we should give up our yearning for a more natural life. Hopefully this treatment gives you some insight though I suspect if you are reading this you probably already had some sense of the great outdoors. So if you are in a rut, need a recharge, or inspiration, or just for the hell of it, when your wild spirit beckons get outside!
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