Woodlands vs Modern Life

By Sean Fagan

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The Woods & Modern Life

. What is it about woods?

That leafy second skin that reassures and inspires in equal measure whenever we wander among her bewitching pillars of wood.

Why is it sometimes, when I enter a wood, something within me runs amok? Is it some prehistorically-triggered gene kicking up some cellular dust – happy to be reacquainted with the wildness of woods?

Here, among leafy limbs and dappled light our beings can wade into a deeper current of truth – that we belong here - that this was once our home, left long ago.

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Happily getting our hands dirty from the dark, humus-rich soil - allowing our senses to be soothed and enlivened - our curiosity sparked back into life by the myriad expressions of woodland life.

It can occasionally border on the euphoric, the sublime, when in the woods.

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I remember my eight year self making contact with nature for the first time.

A large, plump frog boldly surfaced on a deep, dark pond – its copper-hued iris and dense-black pupils beamed forth an ancient wariness and wisdom.

To my young sheltered soul this watery creature with its smooth skin, bulging eyes and webby feet was amazingly alien - yet paradoxically familiar.

Here was life – bold and individual – getting on with the business of living, completely and utterly independent of me.

It was hard to process its uniqueness in my childish mind.

It was also intoxicating...

And peaceful.

When I met that old frog - something within me resonated.

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“Instinctively, without understanding what’s happening, people know that in certain wild environments, they have come home,”

~ Edward O. Wilson

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Most of my life I’ve lived close to nature.

But there has been chunks of my life when I’ve lived away from wild places and during those nature-lean times my imagination was spontaneously haunted by evocative moments in nature – ravens joyfully tumbling in the tall, ethereally-lit, mountain air - birdsong filling the dawn air with a fevered eloquence - a bear swimming across a narrow river about 10 feet in front of my canoe, where I sat - open-mouthed and aghast - but thrilled.

Such memories gladden my heart.

But I’m certainly not unique as regards my passion for wild places.

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When you’ve sampled long and hard on what nature has to offer – it can be hard to find meaning among a lot of the din associated with modern life.

It’s not that modern living is fundamentally unfulfilling (or is it?). It’s just that nature, I believe, generally offers a more simple, peaceful and fulfilling existence.

And who doesn’t yearn for a simpler, more peaceful, more fulfilling existence?

Of course, it would be rude and presumptuous of me to grossly generalise that modern life is mostly fatuous.

And please don’t heap your ire upon me if the previous sentence offends you.

I’ll sullenly sneak off into the woods and sit by my campfire, where I can’t hear you.

Or you can join me – and relax, sit back and enjoy the timeless flicker of a camp fire – nestled deep within the ancient, leafy cradle of mother nature.

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Am I perceiving woodlands (and nature in general) through rose-tinted glasses? I seriously doubt it.

I’ve experienced enough of nature’s hardships to avoid placing an undeserving, glowing halo above her broad (and admittedly beautiful) crown.

Despite the hardships – it was worth every minute.

Except for that one time when I fell into a muddy river.

Then there was that time when I was chased by a rutting stag or that other time when I got stung by three wasps at the same time (oh the pain!).

Okay, it was worth nearly every damn minute.

Would I do it all again?

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Silly question.

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"...and I walked, ran, paddled and climbed - and in all directions I tasted freedom" ~ John Muir

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Stunning video, accompanied by the epic words of the great wilderness pioneer - John Muir.

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I wrote this article because of two reasons...

1. because I felt like it ; )
2. because I wanted to urge people with a strong desire to get closer to nature - to listen to that intuitive yearning. To follow that inner voice and see where it takes you. I cannot guarantee you'll be happier, safer and more fulfilled by being close to nature. That's not a given. I can only offer you my sincere hope that you will tap into the greatness of nature - that it will inspire and sustain you. It certainly has for me.

   

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Related articles on this website:

• The Woods of my Youth
• Nature: a Bushcraft Perspective
• Some Thoughts on the Wonder of Trees
• Bushcraft as Therapy? 

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