Taking back our wildness sounds a little wild. For me, it feels as comfortable as a walk in the woods. Women once lived outdoors alongside our men and families. We were strong and active just so we could survive. Life changes, though, and now we find that all of us are outside less and less, with women probably more so than men. We all get up, get dressed, get in our cars, and spend most of our days inside. If we are lucky, we can at least look out a window at the wild side of life. In the far distant past, even as we walked along, we cared for our families and children and still managed to feed and clothe everyone. We knew how to find food and shelter, how to hunt and make fires, and we were part of the nature of things. Not so much today. Hunting, if at all, seems to be relegated to the men of the family. Foraging for food again is not really happening unless you live in an area where you were encouraged to do this as a young child. Even knowing the plants or the sounds of the birds is something most women have never been exposed to.

What does wildness have to do with our lives now? Isn’t it enough to just trudge through the day, making sure we can zip through the next traffic light on our way to our next appointment? Is that wild enough? No, not the same. As we continue to live in a more and more congested and busy world, our souls and inner peace are longing for the opportunity to just be still. To learn new things, like where is a good place to put my tent? How to make a campfire. How do I find my way back to the trail? How to stay warm or cool, and what was that four-legged thing I just saw scampering through the woods? Maybe even how to act like a bear and pee in the woods—how in the world would I do that? How can I slow down my mind and just feel like I am a part of the natural world? What would it feel like if I howled at the moon or howled back at the coyotes on the next ridge? What if I ran down the hill and jumped right into that lake? Can hiking increase my curiosity about the world outside the city I live in? Can I find something calling me to leave my car and my safety behind and step into the wilderness? Will it change me, who I am, and what I see as my capabilities? I say absolutely. Placing ourselves outside of our comfort zones and being exposed to things we won’t see in the parking lot can absolutely change who we are and how we live our lives. What we can do?

Are you willing to walk on the wild side?  Will it change who we are in our day-to-day life?  What do you think?  I believe that walking on the wild side even just occasionally, gives us the inner connection to all that is and allows us to bring that back with us into our work and daily lives.  Hey, don’t wait till your 50th birthday or later to add this incredible experience into your life. Put on your shoes, step outside and howl at the moon. It’s our time to take back our wildness, curiosity and daring.