Just for Men (and for the women who want to sneak a look). If you find it interesting, do leave a comment and pass it on. Best regards, John
Men Need Wild and Natural Places
There is little doubt that men are attracted to the outdoors – to wild places, much more commonly than women are. And whilst some men venture there for the primal pursuits of hunting, fishing, and adventuring, their attraction to the wild is more complex than is generally realised. Getting out on the boat or “going bush” might also be an important way for men to preserve or repair their mental health.
Few men are content with either the comfort of domesticity, or the constant drivenness of modern life. For many, the experience of finding themselves in an over-constructed life is suffocating and stressful. There is always the longing, the “dream of breaking free and escaping to a ‘man’s place’ under open sky, a place where physical strength counts and clocks do not dictate the rhythms of the day”. Only here, in the wild places, can a man “sense the truth of being a man” say philosophers Sam Keen and Wendell Berry.
At a time when we appear most “hell-bent” on wrecking natural environments, we probably need them more than ever before. They may be the only antidote to our increasing sense of alienation, and the effects of having to deal with too much information, too many stress inducing stimuli, and the “attention fatigue” both can cause.
There is in fact a strong body of research now suggesting that contact with nature leads to increased psychological health. Outdoor and wilderness recreation is well known for providing benefits of stress reduction, and for reinforcing a sense of connectedness, wholeness, and meaningfulness – all essential elements of mental and psychological health.
There is of course a deep bond and reciprocal relationship between humans and nature. This has been recognized in therapy with grieving men, who have reported experiencing the horizons of their previously “closed in” and depressive “world” (due to grief) expanding, in response to spacious environments of bushland, desert or sea. In the solitude of natural environments men can often relinquish anxiety ridden attempts at control, can relax, be more fully themselves, and can trust themselves to the greater whole of which they sense they are a natural and accepted part. Nature is perhaps our most constant and reliable “home and family”. Its amazing integration and coherence can bestow upon us a greater capacity of psychological integration and coherence.
As men, we need wild and natural places – not as a way of escape, but as environments in which we can mentally and emotionally heal and recuperate; places where, for a time, we can be more fully ourselves: reflective, feeling, and fierce; places where we can reunite with our best intentions, values and aspirations, and sense again the truth that being a man is good, and that we ourselves are worthwhile. It is the wild and natural places that can help us retrieve the humanness that is so important to us living our lives with genuine integrity.