Childlike In Nature

I was out walking on a path that ran by a river last week, not far from my house. It was in the 60s, warm enough to be outside, and I'd already done my weekend chores. So I decided to walk, returning to a path that I'd walked many times in my search for solitude and fresh air while also getting some exercise.

My current novel in progress has many settings and scenes inspired by the nature that I encountered on the path; a fallen log across the river that a character in my novel crosses; deer that come close and stare until you've passed; the sound of the water rushing around rocks.

There's always a sense of peace for me on these walks. Reconnecting with nature helps to calm me and my constantly overstimulated mind, while also focusing me on my writing.

But every now and then, I hear sounds and see sights that aren't exactly of nature.

A teenager yelling with glee as he jumped into the river.

A couple playing Bananagrams on the side of the path.

A group of people laughing as they hopped from rock to rock to avoid getting their feet wet in the water flow that crossed the path.

These things reminded me of how, when I was younger, I was so much better at living in the moment and enjoying what was happening around me. Going outside was a treat, creating new worlds and adventures with my siblings as we climbed through the underbrush and pretended that we were somewhere else.

Time would seem to both slow and fly as we enjoyed the outdoors, not worried about phones or jobs or bills. We had fun, we used our imagination, we just...were.

That mindset is something that I've struggled to recapture. For many years, I avoided being outside. My dislike of bugs and heat was always my excuse since I left my tomboy ways behind me as I reached adulthood. It felt like I just had too many things to do, taking a break to just chill couldn't be part of my routine.

But as time has gone on, I've realized how important it is to get back to that childlike mindset, taking time out to let my imagination wander and not think about things that stress me out.

Over the past year, I've rediscovered the joy of being outdoors. Upon discovering my boyfriend's love of nature and hiking, I agreed to go on a hike with him one beautiful day.

I couldn't believe how much fun I had. While I was sore afterward, I was proud of myself for completing the path. The scenery was beautiful, and I got to see a waterfall in person (not a big one, mind, but still a pretty one).

Never mind the joy of spending time with my boyfriend in his favorite environment, watching him clambering over rocks and sharing fruit and nuts while sitting on a log by the water.

I haven't quite regained my fearlessness of the outdoors (I dropped my sunglasses in the river once and gave them up for lost; my boyfriend promptly laid down on the rocks and fished them out for me). I still step very gingerly and flinch dramatically when bugs zip past my ear. Despite my advice to students to just be calm and ignore curious bees, I have to struggle not to panic when a bee is near me.

But the childlike freedom of just being outside in nature with someone that I love is something that I find myself chasing, now. My life is often stressful and busy, and it's an amazing thing to just be in a space where I can take a breath. (Or several breaths, since I'm still building my stamina back up and hiking makes me winded.)

I'm excited for my next adventure. Who knows? Maybe you'll find me yelling with wild abandon and leaping into the water sometime in the near future.

(Apparently, I'm going ziplining? We'll see how that goes.)