So, let’s not hike…
John Muir is one of the most well-known environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts. Though the word environmentalist may not have been coined during his time, it’s hard to argue that he did not embody the essence of the modern title. Sometimes, it is hard to believe that someone born nearly 200 years ago is still having an impact on modern nature conservation.
The most influential of his contributions would have to be his writing. His passion for nature lives on in his writings and was summed up best by author, Rod Miller. Miller said Muir’s writings have had a “lasting effect on American culture in helping to create the desire and will to protect and preserve the wild and natural environments”.
In his writing, A Parable of Sauntering, Albert W. Palmer talks about a conversation he had with Muir regarding the word ‘hiking’. Muir did not like the word or the thing, hiking. He felt one should saunter in the mountains and not just hike. Hiking implies getting to a destination but sauntering is about the journey.
Like Muir, I feel you should not be in a hurry when walking in nature or you will miss a lot of its beauty.
A flower tucked close to the base of a towering tree or
The mushroom nestled in the moist corner under a fallen rock.
The call of an unknown bird against the background of the churning brook or
The sound of wind rustling the treetops just out of the reach of your eyes but not your ears.
If you can saunter through the mountains, you will become a part of nature, a wanderer occupying your place within this symbiotic relationship that all living things crave. You will feel your often overstimulated mind ease and your thoughts will settle on the present as you awake into the now.
This is when you truly start to feel the benefits of being in nature and your desire to reach your destination will subside.
So let’s not go hiking…let’s go sauntering!
-Shay
Be the one who cares because there is no guarantee that anyone else will.
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