Wilderness

We all have a wilderness inside us that is untouched by any hand of control, whether the desire to control comes from ourselves or the world outside us. This is a place where you feel raw and hollowed out, as if someone had taken a scaler and scraped the flesh out of your heart. You are not a natural part of the land. Your humanity soils it. You may step into it, but you are a visitor. 

The wilderness is not empty. The only things it is empty of are expectations, wishful thinking, our and others’ voices, small or loud. This is where we can disappear from ourselves and let the weeds grow and take over. Where the lands have formed and existed for billions of years and we accept the land for what it is and the land accepts us. 

The wilderness holds space for all seasons. The warmth of spring leaves curling out of the soil, the stickiness of summer, the crisp smell of the fall air, the barrenness of a frozen winter ground. The spirit is clean here. 

I don’t want to lose the wilderness inside me. It doesn’t matter where I am physically. The wilderness is a place you can always step into as long as you do not forget it.