[at-l] A newbie's thoughts on wilderness (Warning: long)

[askowronek@mindspring.com (Amy)]

I kind of get that feeling standing in the middle of my pasture at 
night.  There's neighborhood around the farm, but there are big trees
and big animals, and it smells like the outdoors.  It feels
very big, and I feel very small.

-amy


Denise wrote:


> 
> So, for me, it is these parts of the natural world, or nature, 
> that have made my winter miles a "wilderness" experience of
> sorts, certainly within.  The darkness, the cold, the smell of
> the winter air, the feel of it on my skin, the taste of it in my
> mouth, the moon and stars leading my way; they all work in
> concert and are so mighty and powerful, so beyond *me*; and it
> is that very feeling of smallness that is ultimately so
> liberating and precious to me.  Right in my own "backyard."  
> 
> Do I prefer those vastly more remote settings?  Absolutely.  And
> that's a whole 'nuther story.  I'm just grateful for this lesson
> that winter has taught me this year, because it has led me to a
> different way of thinking, a different way of achieving a state
> of being that I value more than I can express.  Is my
> neighborhood a "wilderness"?  At first blush, of *course* not. 
> But on any given early winter morning, I've learned to revel in
> some the wonders that allow me to feel as though I am in the
> midst of wildness.  Isn't that wild?!