Spending time in the wilderness can be difficult in our busy tech-driven world, but nonetheless is important for our mental and physical wellbeing and the pursuit of our goals. Great philosophers and writers and artists seem to be drawn to solitude to think and reflect, to meditate and create. Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Jesus of Nazareth, Henry David Thoreau, Albert Einstein, Walt Whitman, Nikola Tesla, Mozart, Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Buddha, and many others were said to spend time alone thinking, reflecting, meditating, praying, and creating to help them use their minds to follow their passions.
So what or where is your wilderness? I don’t think we have to go out into a wild area and endure the attacks of insects and wild beasts, the cold, the rain, and the heat of the desert. I don’t think we need to pack a backpack or suitcase and fly off to another continent either. I think that “wilderness” can be any place or state of mind that is free of distractions, demands of routine, and interruptions.
My “wilderness” is everyday sitting in my favorite chair very early in the morning before even the dog gets up for about an hour sipping a cup of very strong coffee while staring into a faux fireplace. I make the cup of coffee, sit down, press the remote button for the little light show to begin, and I bring myself to this familiar pose to move my mind into an unfamiliar matrix of thought. I meditate, pray, plan, reflect, and sometimes I work at thinking about nothing at all. It is very hard to empty the mind for longer that a few seconds. It wants out. The most important part of my wilderness trek is that except for the fireplace remote and a light switch I don’t touch tech.
Where is your “wilderness”?
Free Image by Jordon Hedge
