“I always thought she was a little wild.”
I think it was during a podcast that I heard a woman describe another in this way. It was not a disparaging remark, but a description without judgement. It resonated with me deeply. My heart spoke up: “This! This is who I want to be!” Adventurous and playful in spirit. Engaged, exploring, learning, growing. WILD.
Our cities with their paved sidewalks and streets, with parks and gardens landscaped into lawns, playgrounds and flowerbeds. We forget what it means to dig, to walk barefoot, to get down on ground-level, to get dirty. We forget what it feels like to run and chase, to hop, to lay in the grass. We are turning to stone like the urban environments that surround us. Repetitive motions, behaviors and routines confine us and make our bodies and hearts contract. Under-use and limited range of motion in our physical movements and in our dreams renders our muscles tight and our hearts dull.
When I think back on my childhood, I have fond memories of wildness: riding my bike all over the place to explore hidden neighborhood treasures, running around barefoot all summer long, playing in sand and mud and water, building treasures and forts and play-things out of other people’s junk, eating lunch and dinner outside because I hadn’t been inside all day. My feet were tough and calloused and could take me anywhere. My muscles were supple and limber and could bend me in all manner of directions. I was more creative and open, less censored, tired and anxious.
The message that has been speaking to my heart most prominently in these last months, is one of chasing wildness. It means behavioral changes, like sitting in the grass, going barefoot, and paying attention to the shifting seasons and engaging with the flora and fauna. It also means mental and spiritual changes, like seeking new learning and knowledge and letting my behavioral and intellectual experiences shape my soul.
I am returning to my truest self. Following my heart to a natural, grounded state.
I am rewilding.