Tag: nature
~ Hunted ~
~ Hunted ~
“Forget that “you can be anything you want to be” bullshit they told you in school. This society cannot stand true individuality; it cannot stand seeing an empowered individual being happy while living an alternative lifestyle. I know this because I decided to live life my way and not society’s from a young age, and for that I have been hunted relentlessly. They have come after me with their stabbing stares and piercing comments. They have come after me with their nets of fear and hatred – with their weapons of degradation and mockery. Life can be a relentless struggle, but I have learnt how to survive. I have even began to enjoy the thrill of their hunt. I am out on the wild plains and I run with the hunted. I run with the wild horses. I run with the madmen and maniacs – with the artists and adventurers. My hair is messy and my spirit uncombed. I warm myself with the fire in my heart. I feast off the carcass of my own madness. I experience great periods of isolation and solitude, but I will never quit. I will never let them capture or tame me; I will never let them drag me down. I shall run with those wild horses until the setting of the sun.”
(taken from my book ‘The Thoughts From The Wild’ available here)
~ A Natural Medicine ~
~ A Natural Medicine ~
“Never stop staring up into those starry skies; never stop looking out at those vast oceans. Be wide-eyed to the sheer immensity of it all and let it sweep over you. Yes you are small in comparison, but spend enough time in nature and you will realise that it is not there to intimidate you, but rather to teach you love and humility. In the shadow of the mountain is a temple of inner peace for the soul and spirit. So if life is getting you down a bit then get out into the wild and let the immensity of nature turn hatred into humility, anxiety into laughter, stress into mindfulness, boredom into wonder. Let the wonderland of our natural universe remind you that life is a mystery to be experienced, and not a battle to be won.”
~ Before The Bonfire ~
~ Before the Bonfire ~
“One day it’s all going to turn to dust. The diamonds will turn to dust; the streets will turn to dust; the cities will turn to dust; your bones will turn to dust. The star that now gives us life will swallow everything whole. Nothing will stay solid; nothing you could possibly build here on earth will last the outgrowing fire of our burning sun. It’s all going to crumble and be incinerated in a great cosmic bonfire which will turn everything into smoke flowing throughout the galaxies of our universe. In fact, most things in your life will turn to dust just a few decades or centuries after you die. Your car will become dust, your clothes will become dust, your jewellery will become dust; you and everyone you ever loved will become dust. If this fact scares you, then it shows that you are perhaps too attached to the idea of a permanent material reality. No matter how much you cling to power and permanence, the cosmic drama of the universe will pay absolutely zero attention to your illusions. So many of us out there ignore the basic fact of transience – that we are mere matter momentarily manifested as living organisms for a brief amount of time. No doubt many of us are not ready to face this harsh fact. But if you ever have a particularly stressful day at work, then you might want to give it a try. You can look at those problems as mere dust. You can look at those hateful faces as mere dust. You can look at those mountains to climb as mere dust. With profound humility and appreciation for temporary conscious existence, suddenly life becomes a momentary dance – fleeting and free flowing. Suddenly life becomes as magical as an early-morning dream. Suddenly life becomes precious and beautiful and wonderful beyond words.”
~ The Poachers Of Life ~
~ The Poachers Of Life ~
“I always found it interesting how we all united in contempt whenever there was a story about poachers in the news or on the television. Nothing was more disturbing than seeing a wild animal tamed, thrown in a cage, shot or hacked down for their personal treasures. But so often we were blind to the fact that the same thing happened to us. While migrating across the plains of life, so many of us were captured and thrown into the cages of fear, doubt, dogma and a constant chase of security. So many of us chose to live lives that were safe and acceptable, rather than living the life we truly wanted. The danger was relentless and the poachers approached from many angles. They didn’t always have guns and spears – but instead they were the people putting their hands on our shoulders and telling us to forget about our dreams and passions. Sometimes the poachers were the advertisers, the politicians, the teachers, the parents. Sometimes the poachers were those closest to us; some negative voices ridiculing and dragging us down. Sometimes it was even yourself – the man or woman staring back at you from the mirror – who was the greatest poacher of all.”
(taken from my book ‘The Thoughts From The Wild’ available here)
~ Woods Of Wisdom ~
~ Woods Of Wisdom ~
“Often you can learn more about life from a simple walk in the woods than you can from any institutional education facility or foot-long textbook. If you kept your eyes open on those walks then there was an infinite amount of wisdom to be found all around you. The falling leaves taught you the beauty in letting things go; the meandering streams taught you not to bulldoze your way through life in a linear and rigid fashion; the birds recycling the broken branches to build their homes taught you it was better to work with nature rather than trying to conquer it. A person who spends all their life studying textbooks but does not take the time to return to nature will lose touch with the greatest teachings in life. Keep your eyes open to the beauty of the natural universe and often you will learn more from a simple walk in the woods than any teacher or textbook could possibly convey.”
~ An Unsolved Puzzle ~
~ An Unsolved Puzzle ~
“Cultures are like jigsaw puzzles and not all of us slot so easily into place. The pieces who don’t fit in are usually the ones who realise that there isn’t even a puzzle to be solved. Life is not about being pushed down and being rigidly confined in one spot forever; it is about exploration, evolution, and changing shape. That is the fundamental structure of the universe after all – a constant movement of waves and energy. Why allow yourself to be trapped and restricted by other pieces? Why be one shape when you can be many? So just don’t do it. Don’t be just one thing. Don’t let your entire existence in the universe be defined by some job title. Be a nurse by day and a unicorn by night. Be here, there and everywhere. Be weird – be stupid – be absolutely off-the-wall crazy. Whatever it is you do, please, just don’t be a jigsaw piece.”
~ Coming Home To Yourself ~
~ Coming Home To Yourself ~
“You’re lost and you’re searching for the answer. But the truth is you already know it. You’ve always known it in your flesh and bones. You know who you are, what you want, and what makes you feel infinite. Maybe the billboards and the advertisements and the opinions of others got you a bit confused for a while. Maybe you still are confused trying to live up to someone else’s expectations – but somewhere deep down you know what makes you tick, what makes you feel weightless and free – what makes your existence feel as effortless as sunrise and sunset. If you’re still struggling to find it then my advice is to take yourself away from the hysteria of society. Get away from that television, from that newspaper, from that phone, from those cities and crowds. Get away and reside in the magical world of nature for a while. Out there in the serene silence of the wild is the voice of truth and reason that has been suppressed. Out there is where you sober up from the cultural madness. Out there is where your mind is cleansed and you no longer need to search or prove yourself to others because you know exactly who you are.
It’s a crazy adventure to come back to who you were before everyone else told you who you should be. It can be scary, confronting – and even dangerous – but if any journey is worth making, then it is the one that brings you home to the kingdom of yourself.”
(taken from my book ‘The Thoughts From The Wild’ available here)
~ A Journey Of Passion ~
~ A Journey Of Passion ~
“It is true. There is no greater pleasure in life than giving absolutely everything you have toward that which makes you feel alive. To give it all to your passion – to that which makes your heart dance and your toes twitch with excitement. Yes, this can mean solitude; it can mean messy hair and tired legs; it can mean going insane behind a keyboard at 3am. But make no mistake about it: nothing stirs the blood more than when you get lost in the wonderland of your own joy and imagination. In a world so often darkened by mediocrity and banality, the greatest way to respond is to not to attack the darkness, but to set fire to your soul and light up the shadows around you with the flames of your own inner being. Our passions carry the power of the stars. Without them, our eyes start to dim and our minds become stale; without them we fall into the pits of simply existing and no longer living. To give up on your passion is to give up on yourself – it is to give up on whatever the hell it means to be alive. So whatever it is that makes you feel alive, do it. Do it and do it with every last drop of your soul. Don’t let anyone else belittle your aspirations. Don’t let that spark inside be put out by convention or culture. Follow your bliss wide-eyed all the way to the grave. As a wise man once said, ‘it’s the only good fight there is’.”
~ Walking The Shores Of Life ~
~ Walking The Shores Of Life ~
“Like footprints in wet sand, our lives are so fleeting and fragile – temporary cosmic patterns that will eventually succumb to the tides of transience. What we do with the time we have here shapes the patterns we make, and perhaps even influences a few who follow in our footsteps, yet everything in this universe including ourselves and everyone we love will eventually be swept back into the ocean of eternity. It is not that which should be a cause for despair, but which should rather be the salvation we have longed searched for. For with the knowledge that this is but a temporary dream, life becomes precious and wonderful beyond words. With this knowledge your mind is alleviated from trivial worries and stress, and you remember what is truly important in life. You do not wish to waste precious time on that which is insulting to your being, but to give your all to that which fills your soul and makes your fingertips flicker with excitement. You do not wish to waste time trying to overpower and destroy others, but instead to help and love the ones close to you – to make their existence a little easier, a little more filled with joy and colour and light and adventure. So go wild one: don’t be afraid to walk those shores of life with love and wonder in your heart, with the breeze of the cosmos in your hair, with the waves washing the sand from your bare feet. Don’t be afraid to wander wild and free through the dream of what it is to exist. Yes, one day your path will end; one day the sun will set on the horizon as you return to the ocean of eternity. But when that time comes, you’ll be ready to return to those waters knowing that you lived a life of joy, passion and love – rather than one of fear, hatred and regret.”
(taken from my book ‘The Thoughts From The Wild’ available here)
~ A Voice From The Wild ~ 