The True Wild; Blog #1

I have been doing my share of nature reading within these last two weeks of winter quarter. My current class schedule entails Wilderness Literature, Environmental History of the United States, and Junior Composition with an emphasis on conservation. I certainly haven’t changed my thoughts on nature and wilderness, however, my thoughts have been altered. My eyes have been widened, and although I still retain my same state of thought concerning the concept of wilderness, it has also been altered, in that; I have become even more reinforced in my ideals.

I have always defined wilderness within my own right. I am not a religious person, however, I believe that a sense of spirituality comes with being in true wilderness, and helps define it. If one can wander so far into the woods, or mountains, or the plains, or even underwater, so far that he or she losses all track and thought of humanity and civilization and there isn’t a single obligation or desire on ones mind, then you may have found true wilderness. In my own definition, this kind of higher-level sense of oneself is the key to finding wilderness; a sense of feeling equally at home wherever you go. Becoming completely content within your own mind is the only way one can truly feel free, and this freedom from society and all other thought defines the freedom that can only be found in the wilderness. In short, if you feel free without a doubt while in nature, you very well may have crossed the border into wilderness.

I’ve tussled with these thoughts in my head for a long time, being an avid hiker and local explorer. Therefore, its plain to understand my astonishment when I recently read Henry David Thoreau’s 1861 nature manifesto Walking, in particular, the following section;

“If you are ready to leave father and mother, and brother and sister, and wife and child and friends, and never see them again, - if you have paid your debts, and made your will, and settled all your affairs, and are a free man, then you are ready for a walk” (p. 9).

Here, I believe Thoreau and I share the same idea of complete freedom defining wilderness. However, I personally have never experienced wilderness by my own definition. It is near impossible to let your entire being go and be at home in the wilderness, there will almost always be some human institution or obligation on ones mind. That is why I consider such enlightenment as, indeed, spiritual.

I believe the greatest obstacle in defining wilderness is, simply put, defining wilderness. I do not believe the idea of wilderness can be defined and written in stone. Each person should have there own definition of this wild place. If someone thinks of wilderness as a wasteland, though I do not agree with him or her, I do not mind. Wilderness is what you make it, and having the audacity to give a universal definition is arrogance. For to long nature, the woods, mountains, and dare I say wilderness, were shunned and viewed in a horrific light, all because it was defined by a select few as such. That is why I believe providing a defined notion of wilderness cannot and should not be reached, it is for the individual to ponder, experience, and learn.

I do not believe others thoughts or definitions of wilderness have changed my view of the wild, rather, others thoughts or ideas on wilderness only seem to reinforce my idea of wilderness. But that is exactly what wilderness is about, one’s own definition of the place; whether it’s a physical place, state of mind, or a sense of spirituality. To me, all three of these things contribute to my wilderness. However, it is up to the individual to discover what he or she recognizes as the true wild.

Works Cited

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden, and Other Writings . New York: Modern Library, 1950. Print.