It took me some time to gather the courage to start going out in nature alone. I kept hearing that it’s dangerous to go alone – on the streets when it’s dark, in another country, in nature. So why push your luck when you can find a friend to go with?
Over the years, I’ve found that going alone in nature for me is similar to travelling alone – it’s nice to have a friend with you to talk to and get to know better, but if you want to explore deeper the local culture and make new friends, it’s better to hit the road on your own.
Soooo yesterday I did just that and made some new friends in the Carmel Mountains in Israel. First I spent an hour lying still in the shade of some trees, feeling totally exhausted by the city. One of them, the smallest and most crooked one, opened up to me – he showed me how patience and growth feel like and let me satiate my thirst for connection and grounding with his presense…
Then I headed out for a long walk – some bushes made me laugh, the ground underneath me made me cry with gratitude, an eagle dropped by to remind me of a message I had forgotten, and a pinecone and a stick taught me rhythms and songs in which I couldn’t recognize my own voice.
As the sun began to go down, I found myself walking-dancing to a song. The wilderness around me decided to show me its musical talents by becoming an orchestra. I would just use my stick to point to a bush, a tree, a stone, a cloud and hear the sound as if it was coming out of them as I sang “Hey, good job!”. It might sound funny, but it felt like a celebration of our existance and arriving to this moment together.
I came back home beaming, full of joy, wonder and new ideas. And a message to share with you:
The world is full of friends, infinitely more than those you usually call that way, infinitely more than all the humans on earth even. All it takes to meet them is to make space by going out on your own and opening your heart.
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