Animals in nature have an innate sense to locate a water source. This knowledge arises in them from some unseen force; no one says to them, "Hey, the creek's over this way." I realized today that the same instinct is also in me. Creek calls to me, the water calls to me, just like animals have an instinctual way of finding water. Granted, I may need the assistance of some Google maps or what have you, but regardless, the instinct is still arising in me. I left my house today with a need I couldn't explain to go off trail, to find flowing water, and I found myself here today bushwacking on the gamelands. As I made my way through the woods I was experiencing some anxiety. I wondered why I can't stay inside on a Sunday afternoon like other girls, I worried about my phone dying or if I was going to find my way back, I ruminated on past stressors, but the moment I laid eyes on that creek it was like I struck GOLD. Clear flowing, sandy bottom good good. I thanked Jesus out loud, my mood shifted, my sense of well-being shot up, and I instantly felt entirely capable to handle anything that could come my way in my life. That’s what creek power does for me!
I was born on a creek. I grew up in a creek. There’s something magical about a creek energy that draws me home to it every time. Spending time in nature reminds me that human beings are actually a whole lot more similar than we are different, because after all, we are the same species. For me, spending time in nature is just as much a requirement for my survival as food, water, oxygen, and tribe.
I’m convinced that our modern way of living is killing us. Did we reach the pinnacle of the food chain in order to sit staring into a box for 8, 10, 12, 16 hours a day? Don't get me wrong: technology has its miracles and is the means by which I can communicate this. However, an endless stream of alerts, news, emails, texts, notifications, and calls (many of which are from robots) combined with the roar of traffic and machinery casts a shadow on humankind where our incredible sensitivity becomes dulled and hardened by the onslaught of demands from the Information Age. To sit in the woods and listen to the rustle of every dead leaf, the whisper of billion pine needles, to watch the clouds move slowly, or bubbles dance around the tiniest little creek eddy while it tinkles like a music box is nothing short of medicine to my heart and soul. I believe with my whole heart that if all of humankind, especially us modern Americans in the capitalism game, could spend more time in community with nature, then we’d all be better off and able to source more wellbeing and gentleness in how we deal with one another. Nature is my teacher, she teaches me how to be human and reminds me of gentleness and softness in a world that can be so rough.
