I
went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the
essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and
not when I came to die, discover that I had not lived
- Henry David Thoreau
The call of the wild reaches the ears of
travelers as diverse as human fingerprints. A walk in the woods is a
prescription for harmony amongst all the cluttered pieces of ourselves. We
earthen folk need to recalibrate from time to time. Funny how we love all our
technical gadgetry and the sophisticated pleasures they bring but when we need
peace of mind and clarity, we head for the woods, leaving our devices behind.
In the woods nature embraces us like a weary
prodigal, finally making his way home. Rustling in the trees and the fragrance
of the pines bring sweet reflections of how our lives might be. The forest is
pristine, untouched by the aching scars of civilization. It is a sacred place of
solitude, quietly awaiting its guests. It is an altar for desperate prayers and
a quiet voice that speaks with clarity and wisdom. We can listen to our life
here, exploring the complexities and perhaps wondering how we have traveled so
far and yet feel so unsatisfied.
The woods are a pathway to an inner sanctum. The
journey is uncomplicated and refreshingly light. We exchange our heavy burdens
of vocational commitments, financial demands, personal disappointments and a
multitude of general pressures for a simple backpack and the bare necessities.
Our deepest fears are not that we will get lost
in the woods, but lost in life.
A Walk In The Woods/ Paul Steven Schmees
Excerpt Copyright 2006
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