I’m currently reading Rewild Your Mind, Use Nature As Your Guide To A Happier, Healthier Life by Nick Goldsmith.

I’ve been watching some of Nick Goldsmith’s YouTube videos (his channel is no longer active) for a few months now. But in his good bye, so long and thanks for the fish video. Nick mentioned he was writing/written a book about the outdoors. So I thought I’d see if he’d finished putting pen to paper. Indeed he had so I ordered a copy of the book.

In the opening chapter, first paragraph even! Nick wrote:

“Time out in a hammock somewhere wild or sitting at the base of a tree has become an essential part of my daily routine. In Japan, this is almost an art form, known as shinrin-yoku, which roughly translates as “forest bathing”. However, no water is involved, and you can keep your clothes on! Forest bathing involves completely immersing yourself in nature and in the moment.” p27, Rewild Your Mind, Use Nature As Your Guide To A Happier, Healthier Life by Nick Goldsmith

That struck a cord with me. The whole chilling in nature.

I’d stumbled into that years ago through the wolfpack and getting in to hiking and backpacking.

Very longtime readers who were with me here when this was an outdoors blog and for some reason remained. Will remember often at weekends with the wolfpack I’d find a quiet spot whilst out with them and brew up (often filming whatever stove I was using).

Whilst I was brewing up the dogs would chill as well. They’d be taking in the new smells, finding sticks, never going very far, always in sight of me.

Probably the one thing I miss from living in Farnborough is being within such easy access to places like Fleet Pond, Frimley Park, or the army land such as Caesar’s Camp near Aldershot. I particularly miss Frensham Little pond. I still recognise the trees! when the place is used as a location in movies.

I have nothing even remotely close to what I had in the Fens. Sandringham or Thetford but they are a lot further away. More a day event than a quick get away.

Plus most of the access in the area is busy bridle ways. Whether it’s foot traffic of dog walkers, or equine. It’s very hard to find that quiet spot to just experience nature.

But Nick is right about the benefits of this timeout from the rat race, and all the stress and pressures of everyday life.

I think I can best illustrate this with when I was made redundant in 2008.

I was working for a financial software house in Surbiton at the time. A couple of years earlier the company had opened an “offshore” office as they called it in Bangkok. At the time we all knew what the future held for us. The employees there had less rights than us. The office was open 24/7, the employees worked shifts, got paid less, had less holidays. You get the picture. It was inevitable that one day management would scale back things in the UK.

One day late July, early August (I can’t remember precisely) a company meeting was called and it was announced they were cutting back and there would be some redundancies.

Well you could imagine the atmosphere, the shock and worry that people felt. I wasn’t really surprised or particularly worried. This would have been my third redundancy over the years. I knew it wasn’t the end of the world. But for some it was their first time. Naturally the uncertainty of what the future would bring, meeting financial commitments etc was a major factor on everyone’s minds.

The rest of the day was spent by management calling staff into meetings to inform them they were at risk of being made redundant. I was one of those “unlucky” ones. It was just before lunchtime when I was called in and sat down to be told I was at risk of being made redundant.

I don’t particularly remember feeling anything at the news. Almost indifferent. But when the manager said they understood this was shocking news, and offered me the opportunity to go home early to process things. I jumped at the chance to leave.

I barely spoke to anyone as I returned to my desk, just muttering I was off home. Looking back I remember the odd guilty look. Survivors remorse maybe. I grabbed my things from my desk, and was waiting for the next train home fifteen minutes later. Little did I know at the time apart from one more occasion that was the last time I’d set foot in the office.

Within an hour and a half I was home, changed, brew kit packed, and in the car with the wolfpack on our way to Fleet Pond.

We parked in our usual spot and about half way round our regular walk wondered off into the trees to find a spot to chill.

After making a brew, I sat there sipping coffee and processing the days events, as the dogs did their thing. I let the healing power of being away from it all wash over me. Here for a brief moment in time I had a respite from all that was happening. It doesn’t solve the problem, the problem doesn’t magically disappear. Once you get back into that car reality returns, as does the stress and problems of modern life and whatever else is going on in your life.

But you feel recharged, refreshed, a little bit stronger to face whatever the world is throwing at you.

Over coming months I had no idea how important these dog walks would become for my mental heath as life was about to throw another major curve ball at me. But the continuation of this story is for another day.

However that sums up what being outdoors means to me, what health benefits I get from it. Yes life over recent years has meant I’ve not been doing that. But as you know from other posts my return to the hills is in “progress” and so is trying to get out more locally in the fens. The hunt for that special spot is on.

In the meantime I’ll end with another quote from the same chapter of Nick’s book.

“Everyone has their own individual problems and concerns, but the joy of forest bathing is universal; there isn’t a more gorgeous way to destress and process.” p28, Rewild Your Mind, Use Nature As Your Guide To A Happier, Healthier Life by Nick Goldsmith