food, weather and territorial warfare.
Humans have brains that are sensitive to social and emotional
stress and we always have. Perhaps what matters is not the source of
the stress but the ability to recover from it. This is a key point,
because it’s perhaps what we’ve lost by giving up our connection to
the night skies, the bracing air and the companionate chorus of birds.
When I’m walking across a pleasant landscape, I feel I have time and
I feel I have space. I’m breathing deeply things that smell good and
seeing things that bring delight. It’s hard not to feel the pull of a
grounded reality when you’re dipping into a muddy trail or a flowing
river. Speaking of which, we finally parked the vehicles and formed
into loose walking pairs as we joined up with the creek path. The trail
was sandy, the sky blue, and a gentle breeze rustled the sedges and
stalks at our feet.
Up ahead, I came upon Kramer. His life of adventure had caught
up with him. He wore a brace on his left knee (a high-speed skiing
accident) and walked with a limp, but he walked fast. He will never be
the type to watch the moss grow. He told me stories of nearly
succumbing to dehydration in the Tetons and braving treacherous
river crossings in Alaska. When he was ten years old and growing up
in New York, he was conscripted into an elite division of scouts
called the Order of the Arrow. He was given a knife, one egg and a
fire-starting kit and sent off to the woods, alone, for three days. He
has no doubt these experiences have helped him in life, but for him, it
wasn’t by lowering his blood pressure or providing opportunity for
contemplation. “Look, I used to be a serious climber. When I came
off a big wall like El Capitan, I felt quite relaxed and it also felt good
to be alive. It didn’t feel restorative at time, but it was. I behave
differently for weeks after coming off a climb.”
It makes sense that going into a totally different, novel
environment, be it an ice cave or a Club Med, can be a great antidote
for day-to-day stress or drudgery. That’s the recovery piece. But what