Notes From The Campfire
YES: As the title of this newsletter, ‘Notes From The Campfire,’ would indicate, a significant part of my life is a deep connection to the natural world. We live in a cabin-in-the-woods, and as I write these words I hear an ovenbird, a catbird, a Baltimore oriole, a pine warbler, a common yellowthroat, and our resident bald eagle, all chirping, trilling, and calling in their various ways. And a blue jay. And a red squirrel. It’s the morning soundscape here in the forest.
But seldom these days do I truly lose myself in the sounds, sights, good neighbors and good tidings of the woods. The main reason, of course, is that we have a mightily strange and malevolent man in a nice house in Washington D.C. who is trying to become a dictator. That’s the plain fact of it, and all of us who care about such things find ourselves anxious, on alert, and in ‘fight mode’ much of the time. Nearly all of the time. Because the man (child) is a nincompoop and an idiot who is a failure at life and all that entails, his dictatorship plans may fail as well. We hope so, and we plan to help. But in the meantime he and his equally nincompoopish and malevolent minions are doing and will do MUCH harm. So we are on alert. And in ‘fight mode.’ Continuously.
But for the next 4 days I will be leaving our little cabin, and The News, and traveling to another forest, there to help a small group of folks encounter… Trees. Birds. Wildflowers. Rocks. Streams. And themselves. A ‘Forest Therapy Retreat,’ we are calling it. A short time devoted to returning to essential things. Natural things. Healthy things. Non-stressful things. Beautiful things.
So, the question arises, in my ‘fight mode’ mind, is this OK? Is it OK to unplug—from news and daily/hourly catastrophe—for a little while? To (probably) not post anything here on my Substack page—about how exquisitely awful and deranged Trump’s latest ‘speech’ (see Memorial Day) may be. Will be. Or his newest ‘policy announcement’ (as if he had a policy other than stupidity and destruction). Is it alright to turn aside for a few moments and notice other things? And help others to do the same?
And after seriously asking myself this question, I have decided that the answer has to be… yes. Has to be because in order to continue the fight—even the fight to protect such forests and wild places—one can not be in ‘fight mode’ full time, all the time. We humans aren’t made that way. We need to fill up as well as pour out. We need to Be as well as to Do. We need to recharge as well as deplete. We need to breathe rather than just gasp.
So I will likely be away from this page for a few days. Which reminds me—I want to thank all of you who subscribe and follow me here. I love having this space to share thoughts and concerns—even if they are sometimes frightening or alarming. And I love receiving your encouragement and support in return. But for a few days I will go off to the Forest. And hopefully come back just a little better. And stronger. For I think it is not only OK to do this from time to time. It’s probably essential. For you and for me—for all of us. In whatever forms our stepping away takes.
Now, off to meet the trees. And the flowers. And the birds. And the people. And… …
(This is my newest Substack post. You can subscribe/follow me there at Notes From The Campfire substack.com/@douglaswoodauthor)