John Muir, 1902
“What is sour in the house a bracing walk in the woods makes sweet.” John Muir
My dad sends me articles, clipped from the newspaper, with notes attached, “Seems like you are ahead of the curve!”, which indeed we are. Last summer, my husband, John, and I bought a camper. And if these articles are any indication, campers are all the rage this year because of Covid-19. Campgrounds are now open, and people who have never considered taking more than a walk in the mall are lining up. The really good news following the really bad news of the riots after George Floyd’s murder, is that the rate of Covid did not go up significantly in people who were out protesting. That is, the virus does not spread nearly as much when you are outside.
Last week we went on a camping trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota, one of our favorite places in the world. On the way, we stopped at Wall Drug for a donut and 5¢ coffee. We camped and looked for fossils in the Badlands. We camped near Devil’s Tower (of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” fame). Once we got to the Black Hills, we did a little hiking, but not much. We drove around, but not much, looking for bison and other wildlife. We cooked outside. We read books. We napped. We sat and stared at the campfire. It’s hard to believe we did essentially nothing for a week.
And all this sitting around (without email and Facebook, I might add) did wonders for lowering my stress. But even more than that, was the amazingly healing power of nature: the sun, the stars, the wind, the trees, the birds, the creek, the green.
Now, to be truthful, it surely helped lower my anxiety that the state of South Dakota has pretty much decided there just isn’t a virus going around. Masks were few and far between, and everything was open. It is not something I approve of, and we did wear masks when we went to the grocery store, but it was nice to forget about this virus that has us all locked up, both inside and out.
I should have written this on Monday. That’s when I was feeling the full glorious benefit of being outside. Now I am back to my list of things to do, which really is pretty inconsequential, considering I’ve been quarantined at home for over 3 months.
The lesson from this for me, for all of us, is to get outside, immersing ourselves in nature. There are parks not far from me that can offer much more rejuvenation than my daily walks up and down the same old sidewalks.
Today’s delight: camping. And vacations. And doing nothing, especially with the one you love. Most especially taking in the splendor of God’s green earth.