Just as the stars can only be seen in darkness, so too, can some thoughts and some feelings only be discerned in a natural setting.

If you’ve ever risen before the sun, you know well that magical feeling that comes from witnessing the day come to life. Being present for that ceremony of darkness yielding to light and of silence yielding to birdsong feels sacred every single time. 

If you’ve ever traveled deep into the woods, you know well that mystical feeling of being surrounded by living giants. Walking among the trees, you are just another animal drawn by instinct to their shelter and to their awesome presence. 

These primal comforts are difficult to describe but easy to understand. There’s just something innately soothing about aligning yourself with the natural world. Setting yourself apart from the noise of civilization, and immersing yourself in the silence of nature can be as radically transforming as traveling to a completely foreign country. 

If you’ve ever lost track of time watching a river roll by, or fallen asleep in the grass, or discovered any of the hundreds of ways to abandon yourself to nature, then you already know that there are parts of yourself that are only revealed in these wild places. Just as you might travel outside the city to watch a meteor shower un-dampened by man-made lights, you can step out of your daily life and into the wild to encounter yourself in new and delightful ways.

If you are in need of a reset, a fresh perspective, new insight, or just some peace, consider getting physically closer to whatever elemental force you feel most connected to, whether that is land, water, or sky. There is a long tradition found across all cultures and all faiths of making pilgrimages to nature for self-discovery and restoration. 

You could travel to a place of silence and hear yourself more clearly. A place where the sounds of cars, planes, trains, and radios are faint or nonexistent. 

You could travel to a place of seclusion and see yourself more clearly. A place where no one can interrupt you, inform you, influence you, or interpret you.

You could travel to a place with no clear evidence of humanity and feel yourself more clearly. A place with no structures, no trash, no commerce, no ritual, no plastic.

Dear pilgrim of the wild, step outside the city lights and find your shooting star.

Copyright 2023 Kesel Wilson (entirely, 100% human-created)

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