Seeking Out Nature

I’ve never liked running.  I do it for my heart and my overall health.  At least, that has been the narrative in my head. And then, I realized I actually like running on trails through the woods.  In fact, I get pretty grumpy if it has been raining and my usual trail is too muddy to traverse. I thought my preference for trail running had to do with how boring I think it is to run on the road–the surface is always the same, you have to deal with traffic and other people, and I don’t feel like running on pavement is good for my knees or anything else on my body. But a recent serendipitous confluence of my physical and spiritual pursuits has me thinking that my preference for trail running has a deeper meaning. 

I like to listen to an audiobook when I’m running, and recently I’ve been working my way through Thomas Moore’s “Care of the Soul.” On this particular run, I was going to meet my daughter in the city–so I was a bit grumpy about not being on my usual trail run. Then a funny turn of events happened. My daughter took off on some quickly planned new adventure (as daughters seem to do) and I decided to loop back around through the city and actually hit my usual trail. All the while, I was getting some excellent brainwashing done by the wise words of Thomas Moore. 

Just as I transitioned from pavement to wooded trail, Thomas Moore starts talking about bringing “care of the soul” into physical exercise. This has been something I’ve been thinking about lately (and writing about)—approaching exercise in a caring, positive mindset. As I’ve written about before, I have done a lot of training that has been fueled by this kind of crazy, anger-fueled intensity that I work myself up into. And then Moore develops the idea further by stressing the importance of getting out in nature to exercise. As many of you know, this has also been an important change for me in the last couple of years–as I have fully transitioned from a habitual gym rat to someone that only trains outdoors year-round. However, I hadn’t pondered how this was a move towards care of my soul–but as these words were going into my ears, and I was going into the woods–it all hit me. I actually had this mental, physical, and soulful reaction as nature enveloped me. It was just like a big “Ahhhhhhhhhhh,” that I felt in my body, mind, and soul.

I realized in that moment that seeking out nature is medicinal for me. As Thomas Moore says, it is good care for the soul. The soul loves nature. In nature there is an instant connection to an ancient beauty, simplicity, and inspiration. So, today when I think to myself, “I have to go for a run,” and I’m not too excited about that–I will think instead, “I need to seek out nature.” It’s all part of what I’m realizing is a basic tenet of my life these days: Care of the soul. 

Until next time,

Scott