Syncing Up With Nature

My friend Rich Powell snapped this photo on the Trego Nature Trail when he drove up from Minneapolis for a visit

In an earlier post, I wrote about my attempt to slow down the pace of my life. After spending a week driving down country roads and walking a seventy-five-minute nature trail every day, I find myself naturally moving more slowly and breathing more deeply. It seems only natural to synchronize with nature in this way. I’ve never stayed at a cabin in the woods by myself before and I find that I like it much more than I expected to. I can already tell I’ll miss it when I return to “normal life” in a few days.

Before I arrived here a week ago, I was a little leery about not having TV, phone or Internet access at the cabin, but I’m managing just fine, thank you. I drive eleven miles to town every day where I can get wireless access at a grocery store. I can certainly see the benefits to not being online all the time: I’m spending more time reading, walking and just being. I don’t even mind waiting until the morning after baseball playoff games to learn who won; seems like ages ago when that was the rule instead of the exception.

A friend of mine told me recently that the wireless network she had been using at home suddenly became unavailable and she now has to go to the library to check her e-mail, which she may not do for two or three days at a time. Wow. Can’t imagine that. Then again, I don’t believe Henry David Thoreau had wifi either. I’ll have to research that.

The Namekagon River as seen from the Trego Nature Trail

I am definitely getting countrified. I went over to a neighbor’s cabin at ten o’clock on Saturday morning, slid on some hip-wader boots, stepped into the lake and helped him pull his metal dock onto dry land. Now, I know more about fourth-century Greek poetry than I do about pulling docks out of the water. And I know nothing about fourth-century Greek poetry. I didn’t even know docks were pullable! The laughable part is that we weren’t making any progress until I suggested that I move back a rung or two to get more leverage. That’s what did it! *does the happy country boy dance*

In the three days of cabin living left to me, I plan to savor it as best I can by spending even less time on the Internet and more time alone at the cabin or in the woods. I may not be the second coming of Grizzly Adams quite yet but I’m making progress!

This is why I'm in no hurry to return home. I see this gorgeous sight every day on the Trego Nature Trail.

MY CABIN RETREAT POSTS

HENRY DAVID THOREAU, I’M NOT

THE RHYTHMS OF THE WOODS

SYNCHING UP WITH NATURE

ABOUT PHIL BOLSTA

Phil is the author of Sixty Seconds: One Moment Changes Everything, a collection of 45 inspiring, life-changing stories from prominent people he interviewed, including Joan Borysenko, Deepak Chopra, geneticist Dr. Francis Collins, acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford, Dr. Larry Dossey, Wayne Dyer, Dan Millman, Caroline Myss, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, Dr. Bernie Siegel, James Van Praagh, singer Billy Vera, Doreen Virtue, Neale Donald Walsch, and bassist Victor Wooten.

Here is a three-minute video that introduces you to Phil and his book. Click here to buy Sixty Seconds. Click here to ask Phil to add you to his e-mail list for updates on his blog and books.

Reading this book is like spending a few minutes face to face with each of the contributors and listening to their personal stories. Click here to read unsolicited testimonials from readers. Learn more by visiting the official Sixty Seconds website.

Sixty Seconds was one of three finalists in the General Interest/How-To category at the 12th annual Visionary Awards presented by COVR (Coalition of Visionary Resources) in Denver on June 27, 2009.

Tags: calm, nature trail, serenity