MAY 2015
Another Walk in the Woods
Take a short walk in the magnificent forests of Louisiana, Arkansas or east Texas. It might do you more good than you'd imagine.
Most folks now are so busy with work-related routines and responsibilities that their excursions in the great outdoors are limited. We have largely functional mind sets also, associated with particular purposes for a walk in the woods. Some might be exploring areas for current or future hunting activities. Others might be bird watchers who are hoping to see visiting species. A few could be looking for herbs, berries, or mushrooms. Perhaps property owners are walking to assess tree growth for eventual timber sales. We are a purposeful lot, usually with something in particular on our minds.
Most of us seldom find time for a simple walk to "commune" with the raw essence of our forests and wilderness areas -- found in the wind rustling in the trees, the different slants and shades of light filtering down, and the distinctive smells of the seasons. Even hikers who are open to the sights and senses of the forest may be more focused on exercise goals or lost in their thoughts about personal challenges or upcoming events. We seldom meet the forest and nature without some strong agenda that can impede closer observation and discovery there.
Even distracted as we might be by particular concerns, we return again and again to our forests and the wilderness, because we sense that we have gained something from our short time there beyond our specific intent. It's difficult to define or describe the sensual payoff from our walk. Perhaps it's just the result of fresh air, oxygenation and beneficial exercise, but we sense it's more than that. It's some closer connection to a larger reality. This connection can become addictive and call to us occasionally to try to find time to return to that expanded reality.
We can complain that the Deep South outdoors have more than their share of seasonal heat and humidity, mosquitos, ticks, briars, and other impediments to our walking pleasure. But if we're prepared, we can pick a time of day, a type of clothing, and other means to cope with these constraints.
Some of us in this region are just very lucky. We recognize that we have an advantage that many others don't have -- opportunities to get away from it all. We know that we don't have to go great distances to other parts of the country or world to have enriching experiences in our own public and private forests and wilderness areas. We can become more alive and vital with our simple excursions outdoors. We can return to our jobs and routines with a slight edge in energy and perspective that we didn't have before.
I'm no different, and I'm at a stage of life and reflection where I can more easily recognize the value and subscribe to a renewing walk in the woods. I can appreciate an inheritance of acres of wooded land and an old heart-of-pine log cabin that my great-grandfather and his father built in the 1870s. It's easy for me to spend a week or so periodically at this cabin and in the surrounding woods to grasp fuller meanings of locale, heritage and life itself. I wish others could be as fortunate in circumstance, inclination and reward.
There is much to see and do in our forests and wilderness areas, beyond the obvious hunting, fishing, and common recreational pursuits. If you're at all interested, I'll try to share at least a few of these other activities in several future issues of this publication.
Take a short walk in the magnificent forests of Louisiana, Arkansas or east Texas. It might do you more good than you'd imagine.
Most folks now are so busy with work-related routines and responsibilities that their excursions in the great outdoors are limited. We have largely functional mind sets also, associated with particular purposes for a walk in the woods. Some might be exploring areas for current or future hunting activities. Others might be bird watchers who are hoping to see visiting species. A few could be looking for herbs, berries, or mushrooms. Perhaps property owners are walking to assess tree growth for eventual timber sales. We are a purposeful lot, usually with something in particular on our minds.
Most of us seldom find time for a simple walk to "commune" with the raw essence of our forests and wilderness areas -- found in the wind rustling in the trees, the different slants and shades of light filtering down, and the distinctive smells of the seasons. Even hikers who are open to the sights and senses of the forest may be more focused on exercise goals or lost in their thoughts about personal challenges or upcoming events. We seldom meet the forest and nature without some strong agenda that can impede closer observation and discovery there.
Even distracted as we might be by particular concerns, we return again and again to our forests and the wilderness, because we sense that we have gained something from our short time there beyond our specific intent. It's difficult to define or describe the sensual payoff from our walk. Perhaps it's just the result of fresh air, oxygenation and beneficial exercise, but we sense it's more than that. It's some closer connection to a larger reality. This connection can become addictive and call to us occasionally to try to find time to return to that expanded reality.
We can complain that the Deep South outdoors have more than their share of seasonal heat and humidity, mosquitos, ticks, briars, and other impediments to our walking pleasure. But if we're prepared, we can pick a time of day, a type of clothing, and other means to cope with these constraints.
Some of us in this region are just very lucky. We recognize that we have an advantage that many others don't have -- opportunities to get away from it all. We know that we don't have to go great distances to other parts of the country or world to have enriching experiences in our own public and private forests and wilderness areas. We can become more alive and vital with our simple excursions outdoors. We can return to our jobs and routines with a slight edge in energy and perspective that we didn't have before.
I'm no different, and I'm at a stage of life and reflection where I can more easily recognize the value and subscribe to a renewing walk in the woods. I can appreciate an inheritance of acres of wooded land and an old heart-of-pine log cabin that my great-grandfather and his father built in the 1870s. It's easy for me to spend a week or so periodically at this cabin and in the surrounding woods to grasp fuller meanings of locale, heritage and life itself. I wish others could be as fortunate in circumstance, inclination and reward.
There is much to see and do in our forests and wilderness areas, beyond the obvious hunting, fishing, and common recreational pursuits. If you're at all interested, I'll try to share at least a few of these other activities in several future issues of this publication.
No comments:
Post a Comment