The Healing Power of the Natural World

I became a nomad to connect to the healing power of nature, but in 2020 I was weary.

Remember 2020? Corona Virus was just hitting, and the world was heading into a downhill slide.

Then I came across my journals. Reading them took me back to my early nomad experiences, the good, the bad, and the ugly, and how my experiences finally did lead me to connect me to the healing power of nature.

My Journals Renewed My Joy!

After 5 years on the road, I’d forgotten how physically challenging it was to become a nomad! Reading my journals brought me back to how challenging it was to transition to nomadic living, but also how it stirred up this never felt before sensation of being completely ALIVE! Reading my journals renewed my joy in nomad life!

Those daily journal entries recently became the basis of my newest book, 600 Days As A Nomad: How the Mystical Power of Nature Healed My Body, Mind, and Soul. I let you in on it all … the mishaps, the humor, the fails, the joys, the practical and the mystical!

Nomad Life was Challenging at First.

Becoming a nomad was nothing like I pictured, physically, mentally, or emotionally. In the beginning I missed familiar comforts, and experienced unexpected stretches of loneliness. My body had to learn an entire new way of being!

There’s a learning curve in living in a tiny space. Daily chores that were previously mindless living in a a house were arduous. Add to that the adjustment of living outside in a non-climate controlled environment!

Along with the physical challenges came the “emotional detox” of becoming a nomad. I discuss this in depth in my first book, Wild Women On The Road: A Women’s Guide to Nomadic Freedom in the Modern Age. From the book: “Without a traditional home, possessions, and routines of Western life to define our identity, we’re forced to come face to face with our authentic human self.”

The real adventure in the beginning was staying mentally strong enough to resist the urge to give up! At times I questioned my sanity, but I also found myself rejoicing in the journey! Eventually, I not only thrived, but also healed!

My Soul Was Calling Me To A New Life.

When I started nomad life, my body was broken. I’d been disabled by a mystery chronic illness that had ravaged my life, leaving me bedridden and unable to drive. So, in 2015 when my body started getting some functioning back, I was ECSTATIC! I knew I’d been given a second chance.

I started thinking about nomad life around that time. After coming back from my family’s annual camping trip in the Adirondacks, I wrote in my journal, “If I could live this way, I’d be healed.” My soul was calling me to a new life, connected to the healing power of nature.

Although I’d improved enough to get out on the road, my functioning was far from normal.

During my first month as a nomad, I took a short hike into the Adirondack Forest, and on the way back my muscles started failing! It was a scary feeling to think I might be stuck out in the woods alone or have to crawl back to camp! I managed to stagger back through the trees to my campsite, now with a clear understanding of my body’s limits.

Unexpected Physical Healing

I’ve written about the emotional healing of nomad life in this blog, but it took longer for the physical healing to catch up.

The physical healing didn’t happen right away, but when it did, it was so gradual that it surprised me when I noticed it! Sometime after the fourth year on the road, I could go shopping without needing to sit in a cart. I was able to take short walks again. Participating in “normal” human activities like shopping or visiting with friends became possible again, without paying the price in severe pain or chronic fatigue. Pacing my activities is still crucial, or I risk a serious flare-up. Even so, I count myself very, VERY lucky to have this level of improvement.

I attribute my healing to the mystical healing power of nature. There was no special diet on the road, (in fact my diet got a LOT worse on the road) and I’d already given up on medications and supplements for my condition. Becoming a nomad was the only radical change in my life.

I believe that nature healed me by becoming one with its presence. There weren’t any fancy rituals, meditations, or formulas of self-care. I don’t understand how it happened, but the healing I experienced came without any effort besides being consciously aware of the living Universe surrounding me every day.

My body gets plenty of sunshine and fresh air, and my feet are on the Earth daily. Living outdoors, I’ve developed a mystical connection to the Earth, plants, mountains, trees, forest, sky, and desert, and all the critters that come to visit. The way I live connects me to the entire Universe. I can’t imagine living any other way!

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Some of the ideas and excerpts in this blog are taken from 600 Days As A Nomad: How the Mystical Power of Nature Healed My Body, Mind and Soul.