By Sean Fagan
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Can nature be a healing influence? (Photo: Sean Fagan - Killarney National Park, Southwest Ireland).

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Bushcraft is more than Technical Competence

The technical aspects of bushcraft are more than adequately represented on the printed page and online.

Of course, technical competence is important – as there is an obvious, direct correlation between outdoor competence and quality of experience when it comes to visiting, and living in, wild places.

But bushcraft is far more that technical competence.

To my mind, bushcraft is a means of understanding the essence of a landscape by getting close to nature.

And nature is many things…

It is, of course, a place to test, hone and enjoy bushcraft skills.

But it can also be a place of refuge from the often fraught and demanding stresses of modern life.

Bushcraft as Therapy

Satisfying the need to be alone

 

When I have free time, I often consider going alone into nature to de-stress - to just be.

In the past I often bypassed the opportunity to get out into nature as I invariably had some other “pressing” matters to attend to.

But as I get older and a little wiser – I pay more attention to that need to be close to nature.

So when some free time rolls by – more often than not, I just pack a rucksack and go.

When I arrive at my wild destination, I often carry doubts as to why I should be there, as my mind is often still caught up with the many things I’m obligated to do.

Then, as I walk alone in nature, something happens…

I know I’ve made the right decision.

A little tracking, a little foraging, maybe some carving, or just getting a camp fire going while watching nature around me - is all I need.

These deceptively simple activities have the ability to clear the mind - to cleanse the spirit, so to speak.

I always come back from nature a calmer, happier, more inspired person.

Robin knows and breathes this ancient wisdom.

I’m grateful, in my own small way, to spread Robin’s life-affirming and timeless message.

If you haven’t already, it’s my sincere hope that you might consider using nature as an occasional place of refuge – to use it as a restorative niche in your life (especially during times of acute stress).

It's not the aim of this blog post to spuriously promote bushcraft & nature as a panacea for all ills.

However, we all need a break from time to time – and nature caters for all.

As Robin so wisely expresses, in his video..."nature is powerful, it's deep and it's very subtle".

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How very true.

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“When people state the common belief that being in nature relaxes them, that it helps them recover from stress and tragedy, that it’s a healing process to be in nature,  we now know there’s a solid basis for that,"...

E.O. Wilson.

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"We simply need that wild country available to us…for it can be a means of reassuring ourselves of our sanity as creatures, a part of the geography of hope"

~ Wallace Stegner

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