September marks not only the waning of Summer and the start of Autumn, it also marks what I think of as the best time for outdoor activities! The mosquitoes and midges are mostly gone. The cricket sings now, replacing the silenced frogs.
This month, we're introducing a new columnist for Spirit Living. Naturalist, Dave Santillo, Ph.D. is writing a new book and he'll be inviting us along on his journey. From the look of his introduction, it promises to be a wonderful adventure! - Editor.
Venture Outside: A Path to Nature
in Your Life
by Dave Santillo, Ph.D.
If you walk in a heavy rain along a trail in the forest...you get wet.
However, try broadening your awareness of the nature around you and take that same walk.
You inhale the rich brew of scents made more alive with the added moisture…the pleasing musty sill of the damp plant litter decaying on the forest floor, and the pungent presence of conifer trees. You feel the energy in the rain splashing though the tree canopy, individual leaves tilting with a slam-dancing frantic motion to the bombardment of the drops. You notice the determination of a ground beetle in the leaf litter to go about its business, navigating the modified landscape of puddles and rivulets in stride; or maybe you see a partridge puffed out and riding out the storm in the shelter of a dense spruce tree; or the fresh track of a wild turkey in a moist exposed part of the trail. In the background you hear the music of frogs and various birds harmonizing with the rain. You perceive the integral relationship of the water to the life and strength of the trees, and to the diversity and density of the forest vegetation. You absorb the calming rhythm of the rain, and become aware of a lazy play-by-play as that rhythm does battle with, and ultimately defeats, the uneasiness of lifes’ pressures churning around in your thoughts.
Photo Dave Santillo
So often I’ve been in nature with friends who miss what I’ve come to be attuned to. Friends who are anxious to experience nature. It may be the sighting of a bird high in the tree canopy, or obscured in the patterns of vegetation, that they just can’t locate. It may be the “story” conveyed by fish scales spread on a streamside rock, and a barren soil slide on a streambank, that they have to have “read” to them. The brief glimpse they may get from me is a small appetizer of the potential feast that awaits them with developing skills of their own.
My goal in this monthly contribution to Spirit Living is to share my experiences as a Naturalist, and to assist those interested in incorporating nature into their lives to obtain richer experiences, by viewing nature in new ways. In other words, help them get much more than just ‘wet’ from a walk in the rain, by helping those so inclined to vastly increase their ability to see, hear, smell, touch, and “be in” nature.
Writing this column will be a journey of sorts for me. I fully expect to learn a great deal more about nature and my relationship to it, gain additional insight, and learn a great deal about myself.
My hope is to open some doors for those seeking a greater connection and understanding, and allow those who are interested to consider opportunities in nature in ways they hadn’t considered before. My inclination toward all things ecological will be apparent. Harmony with nature, sustainable use of resources, leave-no-trace use…all will be common themes woven through my contributions. I will unabashedly promote “green."
There will be elements reminiscent of field guides, cookbooks, natural history essays, how-to manuals, and travelogues…as well as elements of pure wandering of my mind and the minds of others.
Immersing ourselves in nature is healing. It slows us down, takes us out of our constructed routines and reminds us we live on a remarkable planet that we share with many other forms of life. One of my goals will be to promote holistic healing. I will not dwell on the benefit of nature in a well rounded program of spiritual well being—if you are reading this, you already are convinced of that, and you are seeking to increase that benefit. This article is designed to help you get the best and fullest experiences from the natural world wherever you seek its benefit.
Each article will have one exercise for you to practice being in nature, designed to increase your awareness, heighten your senses and generally enhance your ability to perceive natures’ processes going on around you.
We’ll travel through the seasons and around the clock, through different habitats and different parts of the Americas, gratefully accepting and embracing what nature has to offer.
The rewards are immeasurable, the jewels resplendent and the gifts boundless. And all are there for the taking with some insight, guidance, practice and patience. This column in Spirit Living is designed to provide the first two. It’ll also provide you with a framework and some of the tools you may need to practice...the patience is up to you!
I’m looking forward to having you join me on the journey!
-Dave
Dave Santillo, Ph.D. is an outdoorsman, naturalist and adventurer who delights in approaching his relationship to nature from a variety of physical, spiritual, recreational and educational perspectives. He has a Ph.D. in Environmental and Forest Biology and has been lucky enough to be able to take part in a wide variety of studies of wildlife, fish, plants and insects for over 25 years in his professional life.
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Got outdoor adventure stories? Send them along to us at: editors@spiritliving.org.
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