Tower and Town, September 2024 (view the full edition)Rewilding OurselvesDuring lockdown, in my garden, the sound of bees on the pulmonaria seemed so loud with the roads being so quiet. There were sounds of people out for their permitted walks on the footpath nearby. People visited parks and beaches en masse, even when it was apparently not safe to do so. I spent more time than ever in the garden, working, sitting, strolling, observing. It seemed there was a need to get outside, to access nature in some way, however limited the time; no matter how crowded and small. Google the word rewilding and there'll be a plethora of results. Most refer to the rewilding of land and the animals on it. Fewer refer to the rewilding of ourselves. If we are to heal the planet, ourselves and our connections perhaps we need to re-connect with the wildness within ourselves. Like the animals and plants we farm, those we keep as pets, we too have become domesticated. Maybe we need to go beyond the bounds of our domestication? In Rachel Cory's book, Rewilding Yourself she states: 'the first step in reclaiming areas of land and habitat, to saving, refurbishing, rewilding them, is to find the wild place inside, to rewild yourself.' Ever noticed that plants are always trying to grow in the cracks in paths and drives; trees growing out of brick walls, cracking concrete? Under domestication wild nature is attempting to manifest and as a part of nature, manifest in us too. So, allow it. What ways can help that process? Here are some ideas:
Trying some of these will go towards re-connecting with nature, re-connecting with our wild side. This rewilding is a process starting with a single step so maybe try one and proceed from there. A part of the process for me was to spend that extra time in the garden. 
Credit Deborah Schofield Gerald Payne |