Over the weekend while researching hiking trails on the web, I noticed a place near Sioux Falls called the Beaver Creek Nature Area. It sounded intriguing, but the online trail guide rated it as “very difficult” and “extremely hilly.” I was more interested in enjoying nature and stretching my legs than in getting a strenuous aerobic workout.
The trail ranking also brought out some old fears about hiking. What if I slipped and twisted an ankle or wrenched a knee? What if I got myself down a steep incline and couldn’t get back up? What if I ran out of energy halfway along the trail and had to limp back to my car at the trailhead?
But the energy of the place unmistakably called to me. So Tuesday morning I decided to check it out.
While driving to the Beaver Creek Nature Area, my ego rebelled. I worried about my mom’s health, about my finances, about my cats at home in Wisconsin, and, yes, about whether the trail would be too difficult for me.
I arrived, and it seemed promising, so I drove through on the road to scout it out. It looked exactly like what I enjoy most – remote natural location, no one else around, unpaved trail winding through a variety of habitat – so I gave it a try.
I parked my car in the empty parking lot and began to walk. After crossing a footbridge over the creek, I was greeted by a red fox bounding ahead of me down the trail. A good omen, so I kept going.
The trail leisurely followed the banks of the creek, then wound through a forest, slowly making its way up to a ridge, but never too steep or too strenuous. It eventually led to a suspension bridge spanning a ravine – a magical place of fairies, water sprites and tree nymphs. From there, the path meandered up into a meadow where the sun reflected off spider webs glistening with morning dew and blue jays announced my presence to the other wildlife.
Less than halfway through my walk, no traces of worry or fear remained. And I was reminded of another benefit of walking in nature:
In nature, the voice of ego fades away, and the wisdom of the soul emerges. Thoughts of worry, lack, isolation, and fear retreat into hibernation, replaced by the energies of abundance, love, connectedness, and beauty.
Exactly the medicine I was looking for that morning.