Great article, and yes, I imagine the UK is ultimately safe to be outside. Here in the Great Basin of Nevada, there's a lot of wild desert out there and ... bodies long lost and moldering in juniper duff. When I first moved here, I walked in the desert just a block from my house. At first, it was exhilarating. Then I started noticing people, mostly men, hanging around. They'd watch me as if I was threatening their score ... of what who knows. Outdoor places are lovely. I retreat from my nightmares by walking outside to my garden where I gaze at the Universe until the dreamscapes soften. It's a fenced garden, though, the proverbial paradiso ... the walled garden of ancient cities formed in the virgin desert. I love it, but because a people who believe the wilderness is theirs to do what they want, I am less afraid of meeting a bear or cougar on the trail than a man. Alas.
Well Mike you finally caught my attention here... as a person who spent most of my life in a very very interior freeze state of retreat while living among human beings and other beasts cruising the great outdoors like a person who wasn’t afraid. Oh the irony.
A very good piece of writing. Mike, you are a very talented writer. But I need to say that we feel more secure "Inside" because we actually really are more secure "Inside". We built houses because they keep us safe and provide comfort. Even the first of the humans found a home in caves. Nature is wonderful, amazing, and keeps us healthy, in mind and soul, if you know how to enjoy your time in nature. But it can also kill you easily, if you don't.
And I am just remembering something horrible that happened to a spanish couple traveling in India. They put out a tent somewhere near an indian town. And 7 very drunk indian guys found them. It's too horrible to describe what happened next. Made the news worldwide.
So there really are bad people out there. There are.
Interesting food for thought. Last spring I had an overwhelming desire to sleep outside. I fought it for a while, then surrendered in late August. I bought a cheap camp bed to put on my balcony (explaining I wanted to watch the meteor showers) but even with lots of blankets, I nearly froze. In summer. I'm a bit old to go trekking through the countryside in search of good places to sleep. For one thing, it's difficult to get up off the ground. I've never been worried about people. However, there are coyotes and the occasional bear here, so animals do represent a danger. Inner me really wants to sleep in the wild. Outer me knows it will be extremely uncomfortable in many ways, so I'd probably get little sleep. We "civilized" creatures are too used to comfort.
I was talking about a similar topic with a friend of mine earlier this week, how we've domesticated ourselves, and negative effects of that domestication. Basically, the more dependable our lives become, the more inflexible and less resilient we become. In our efforts to control everything, we become dependent on the sensation. And like addicts, we'll do anything we can to maintain the illusion.
“Beautiful post”, I think, as I’m sitting in the doctor’s office waiting to get a cortisone shot for the back pain I’ve gotten because I’ve been sitting way too long at my desk every day for the past three weeks! I think I’ll print this out and paste it on the fridge 😊
Great piece, love the humor and the lovely perspective to the beauty of the outdoors. I personally think that dangers are inherent everywhere so I would advise caution even indoors.
I define 'inside' as 'keeps the cats in & the rain out', but that's a VERY broad definition. Things included under that are (some) tents, my van, a popup canopy with walls made of pallets as long as the gaps between boards are smaller than your cat, & shipping containers. I'm gonna take the fifth (does England have an equivalent to that?) on which of those I've lived in for anything much more than a week.
This is fascinating and fun to read, Mike. Lots of it resonates with me. I couldn't help wondering to what extent inside and outside are terms which vary across cultures. Around the world, I've seen straw huts, verandas, stilt houses, temples or other buildings of which some parts give out onto the open air, where inside/outside becomes less of a binary and more of a progression. Perhaps in some parts of the world we've walled/doored/windowed ourselves into this binary?
I love this so much. I love the idea of blurring the lines between inside and outside. And of course the idea of becoming safe. 11 years ago when I started walking in the park, I was actually terrified to walk on a fully paved bike trail in the middle of the morning. But I kept doing it. And now I’m really comfortable walking all over the place out there, even in the dark before sunrise by myself. on the rare occasion that I don’t feel safe, I trust that feeling. I’ve learned that the wild creatures are not the ones I have to fear. It’s the humans and some escaped dogs that are caused for concern. As long as I pay attention, it’s so much safer than I thought it was.
I was fortunate enough to travel to a lot of different countries in my 20s and early 30s, which taught me that really were all the same and yet we’re all fascinating as well. Somewhere along the way, I lost that ability that I had at that age to just strike up a conversation with a stranger. I became much more wary and largely avoided people. When I moved into this neighborhood, I was determined that I would meet the neighbors and get to know people, and then the pandemic and actually that’s when I met people. Mostly I know the people that walk their dogs or sit on their front porch. Starting to connect with humans again is definitely part of my 2024 stretch goals.
Napping outside is one of my all time favourite activities, whether it’s in my backyard, on the beach, or at the park. When I was a uni student on a work term we had a gorgeous park across the street from my work building and I would go sit on a bench after eating my lunch, tilt my face up to the sun, and close my eyes. It did terrible things for my face, but it’s my absolute favourite thing to do for relaxation.
Great article, and yes, I imagine the UK is ultimately safe to be outside. Here in the Great Basin of Nevada, there's a lot of wild desert out there and ... bodies long lost and moldering in juniper duff. When I first moved here, I walked in the desert just a block from my house. At first, it was exhilarating. Then I started noticing people, mostly men, hanging around. They'd watch me as if I was threatening their score ... of what who knows. Outdoor places are lovely. I retreat from my nightmares by walking outside to my garden where I gaze at the Universe until the dreamscapes soften. It's a fenced garden, though, the proverbial paradiso ... the walled garden of ancient cities formed in the virgin desert. I love it, but because a people who believe the wilderness is theirs to do what they want, I am less afraid of meeting a bear or cougar on the trail than a man. Alas.
Sorry for another comment! But I kept thinking about your last line, so I had to comment one more time!
"Hell is nothing but yourself, alone against the world"
These are such powerful words...don't really know how to approach this...they're just a few words, but they encompass so much...
Well Mike you finally caught my attention here... as a person who spent most of my life in a very very interior freeze state of retreat while living among human beings and other beasts cruising the great outdoors like a person who wasn’t afraid. Oh the irony.
Brilliant! I'm the guy who brings emergency blankets, knives, and sometimes cooking implements on long hikes for JUST such an emergency!
Camping? Er, no.
A very good piece of writing. Mike, you are a very talented writer. But I need to say that we feel more secure "Inside" because we actually really are more secure "Inside". We built houses because they keep us safe and provide comfort. Even the first of the humans found a home in caves. Nature is wonderful, amazing, and keeps us healthy, in mind and soul, if you know how to enjoy your time in nature. But it can also kill you easily, if you don't.
And I am just remembering something horrible that happened to a spanish couple traveling in India. They put out a tent somewhere near an indian town. And 7 very drunk indian guys found them. It's too horrible to describe what happened next. Made the news worldwide.
So there really are bad people out there. There are.
Interesting food for thought. Last spring I had an overwhelming desire to sleep outside. I fought it for a while, then surrendered in late August. I bought a cheap camp bed to put on my balcony (explaining I wanted to watch the meteor showers) but even with lots of blankets, I nearly froze. In summer. I'm a bit old to go trekking through the countryside in search of good places to sleep. For one thing, it's difficult to get up off the ground. I've never been worried about people. However, there are coyotes and the occasional bear here, so animals do represent a danger. Inner me really wants to sleep in the wild. Outer me knows it will be extremely uncomfortable in many ways, so I'd probably get little sleep. We "civilized" creatures are too used to comfort.
I was talking about a similar topic with a friend of mine earlier this week, how we've domesticated ourselves, and negative effects of that domestication. Basically, the more dependable our lives become, the more inflexible and less resilient we become. In our efforts to control everything, we become dependent on the sensation. And like addicts, we'll do anything we can to maintain the illusion.
“Beautiful post”, I think, as I’m sitting in the doctor’s office waiting to get a cortisone shot for the back pain I’ve gotten because I’ve been sitting way too long at my desk every day for the past three weeks! I think I’ll print this out and paste it on the fridge 😊
Great piece, love the humor and the lovely perspective to the beauty of the outdoors. I personally think that dangers are inherent everywhere so I would advise caution even indoors.
I define 'inside' as 'keeps the cats in & the rain out', but that's a VERY broad definition. Things included under that are (some) tents, my van, a popup canopy with walls made of pallets as long as the gaps between boards are smaller than your cat, & shipping containers. I'm gonna take the fifth (does England have an equivalent to that?) on which of those I've lived in for anything much more than a week.
Have you ever watched the YouTube channel Camping with Steve? He stealth camps; one time eating and sleeping in the shrubbery on a roundabout.
This is fascinating and fun to read, Mike. Lots of it resonates with me. I couldn't help wondering to what extent inside and outside are terms which vary across cultures. Around the world, I've seen straw huts, verandas, stilt houses, temples or other buildings of which some parts give out onto the open air, where inside/outside becomes less of a binary and more of a progression. Perhaps in some parts of the world we've walled/doored/windowed ourselves into this binary?
I love this so much. I love the idea of blurring the lines between inside and outside. And of course the idea of becoming safe. 11 years ago when I started walking in the park, I was actually terrified to walk on a fully paved bike trail in the middle of the morning. But I kept doing it. And now I’m really comfortable walking all over the place out there, even in the dark before sunrise by myself. on the rare occasion that I don’t feel safe, I trust that feeling. I’ve learned that the wild creatures are not the ones I have to fear. It’s the humans and some escaped dogs that are caused for concern. As long as I pay attention, it’s so much safer than I thought it was.
I was fortunate enough to travel to a lot of different countries in my 20s and early 30s, which taught me that really were all the same and yet we’re all fascinating as well. Somewhere along the way, I lost that ability that I had at that age to just strike up a conversation with a stranger. I became much more wary and largely avoided people. When I moved into this neighborhood, I was determined that I would meet the neighbors and get to know people, and then the pandemic and actually that’s when I met people. Mostly I know the people that walk their dogs or sit on their front porch. Starting to connect with humans again is definitely part of my 2024 stretch goals.
I think your Further Reading List, said it all.
Napping outside is one of my all time favourite activities, whether it’s in my backyard, on the beach, or at the park. When I was a uni student on a work term we had a gorgeous park across the street from my work building and I would go sit on a bench after eating my lunch, tilt my face up to the sun, and close my eyes. It did terrible things for my face, but it’s my absolute favourite thing to do for relaxation.