Nature Deficit Disorder

The Chisos Mountain Range in Big Bend National Park

Yesterday, while making my rounds of the blogs, I came across Pagan Sojourner's account of making the 2,170 or so mile journey on the Appalachian Trail. This account hit me like a blow. The last time I spent any extended time in nature was camping in the Wichita Wildlife Sanctuary in Oklahoma, but we were there to scatter our covenmate Jim's ashes. Part two of that entry is here. Although I did take a little time to try and be with nature it wasn't the best trip for it. In fact, that was where I hurt myself.

I'm badly in need of some sort of spiritual retreat, a time and place for me to reconnect to that which is sacred in this world. A place to sense the presence of the Divine. Unfortunately, with all the time off I have taken from work, I just can't do it. Not now anyway. In any case, Texas outdoors in late July through mid September is miserably hot and this year is no different. The closest I get to outdoors is looking out from the airconditioned inside. I have never taken the heat well and as I age, I take it less well.

Witchstock is coming up. I don't know if, since I am no longer a part of a coven, I will be allowed to go. If I am, I want to take my wife and child. Witchstock sounds like a great time for a Wiccaning!

Or it would... when I went into surgery my wife sent an email to all my former covenmates about my surgery, but we never heard back from any of them. No hey how are you or anything, which is not like them. So I'm wondering if I have offended them or anything. I was going to ask one of them to do the Wiccaning but...

But if I can go to Witchstock, that will be a great time to reconnect.

Anyway, I urge you to go read Sojourner's great post about her (I think she is a she, if she is a he, my vast apologies) experience during the five month hike. How on earth anyone in this modern world can afford to take that long of a time for a hike I don't know but that may be one of the biggest problems facing us today. We don't know how important it is to be able to do things like this and we are missing out on something critical.

Before you go, read my post below. We're trying to prevent this missing woman from slipping into invisibility. So help us out if you can! Thanks.