Solitude in nature stirs a watchfulness that sharpens our senses and makes us more alert.

Featured in the December 2002 edition of Atlanta’s Oracle2000

My favorite children’s story as a child was not “Cinderella” or “Sleeping Beauty” but “Ferdinand the Bull” by Munro Leaf. The tale is about Ferdinand, a gentle bull, who would rather sit under a tree and smell a flower than take part in a bullfight. Looking back I can see why the story meant a lot to me. It gave me permission to enjoy the natural world and to be myself. The book is out of print and that’s a shame. It’s a sign of our times—most of us live in cities now and have little time to spend enjoying the great outdoors. If we do venture out at all it’s in the spring and summer. Yet we who live in the Southeastern part of the United States are lucky for the winters are short and mild. There are about as many good weather days in winter as in summer or spring.
The Iroquois Indians call nature “The Great Peace” and that has been true for me. I first became aware of nature’s profound restorative and renewal capabilities on backpacking, canoe camping, and day hiking trips. I found that spending time in nature is like getting to know a loved one—the more time I spent with them the more my love deepened. Over the years my need to spend time in a natural place became so strong I began to include a daily “nature fix” in my life.
For the past 20 years I’ve tried to spend at least 15 minutes to an hour a day under a tree alone outside my house. In the last four years I’ve been blessed to have a bubbling rocky creek in my back yard. That is where I go for my daily meditation, yoga and prayers. Listening to the rushing water helps the disturbances in my mind subside like a windswept sea suddenly finding calm.
It is at the creek that I can open to the wisdom that nature is the Great Mother that sustains me. When I step-out barefoot on the rocks I feel how the same pattern that flows through the water, rocks and woods lives deep inside me.
I’ve found that relaxation and presence are the only tools needed to break down the barrier that separates us from nature. Solitude in nature stirs a watchfulness that sharpens our senses and makes us more alert.
At the creek meditation comes to me without effort. It’s as if nature is meditating me.
There is a pattern when I’m in nature. In the stillness my emotions surface and my self-awareness is heightened. At first I feel small but then I become aware that I’m connected to something bigger than I am and I feel large. Solutions surface as my thoughts clear. When it comes to choosing a life path my heart whispers the way, and I more often hear it in the stillness of the wild. Finally there is bliss. I just am, I have no thoughts and feelings—I’m a part of nature and nature is a part of me.
Another easy and fun way to experience nature is through day hikes. Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi and has over 1,000 miles of trails. You can walk along wild mountain streams, through rolling foothills or on sandy beaches on the coastal plain.
Georgia’s temperate climate permits year round hiking which is also the best form of exercise.
The two books I use to find hiking trails are “The Hiking Trails of North Georgia” by Tim Homan and “Hiking Georgia” by Donald W. Pfitzer. Along with the trail descriptions they include sections about clothing, equipment, water, weather and safety.
About clothing. In Norway they say there is no such thing as bad weather. Whether you are hot or cold depends on what you wear. The secret to staying warm in winter is to dress in layers. The first is a light, inner layer made of material that will wick away moisture from the skin; next is a warm porous layer and finally an outside layer that is wind and rain proof. This permits you to regulate your temperature by putting on and taking off layers. A good rain jacket or poncho is essential. You should always wear a warm hat on cold days as you loose 50% of your heat through your head.
Hypothermia is the number one killer of all outdoor injuries in Georgia. Hypothermia lowers the internal body temperature from exposure to cold, wind or rain. The symptoms of hypothermia include shivering, followed by no shivering and becoming disoriented and confused. As the hypothermia becomes more advanced the person may lapse into a coma.
The water of all of Georgia’s rivers, streams and springs need to be treated by boiling or filters before you drink it because of giardiasis or other bacteria.
As a safety measure I always leave an itinerary of my hike with someone before I leave.
There are a number of local hiking and conservation groups that sponsor trips if you don’t want to go alone. Clubs that have monthly day hikes, backpack or canoe camping trips include the Sierra Club, Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, the Georgia Nature Conservancy, the Audubon Society, Atlanta’s Singles Outdoor Adventures and Macon’s Georgia Wilderness Society.
We all have a Ferdinand, a nature loving gentle bull in us. For some it is small and needs to be nurtured for others it is large and needs to be honored. Waiting outside your door is a teacher who for millions of years has served as a healer and spiritual wellspring. She is as close to you as the sun on your back.