The Clearing

When we set out on an outdoor adventure, much like life, we don’t know exactly the path ahead. The trail is perhaps known, but the twists and turns of the road are unseen at the start. The steepness of the climbs are not yet felt. It is navigating these unknowns that make it an adventure, as we meet the moment with each step, and ourselves with each obstacle, witnessing how these moments illuminate parts of ourselves that bring constructive confrontation and connected clarity. It is only then that we come to the clearing. 

An expansive opening. Here we can see the path fully ahead with fresh courage to meet the other side of the valley where the trees come back obfuscating the view. But here we rest in the sun-drenched glory of newfound spaciousness. We have faced nature and ourselves to restore our wildness, our uncultivated state, beyond the structure of everyday life, so we can be here in the clearing to see  with new sight, to reintroduce what has been driven out with clarity of our pursuit and purpose. The clearing is inspiration, the place of renewed vision and vigor. Only found from going outside and reconnecting within, which inherently can not be found from the place we are standing or the vantage point from which we are viewing our reality. When we are willing to go toward the unknown or forgotten places, we are greatly rewarded—and we come to the clearing. 

In keeping with the spirit of The Rewild, this column will explore, reflect, and offer ways that you can come to a renewed aperture of inspiration through the unrelenting process of coming back to your origin, the wild in you, a reward unto itself.