Sure, you can get a good dose of the outdoors by simply going for a walk, hike, picnic, beach day etc. All wonderful things indeed, but to really feel the benefits of nature, our family likes to spend some solid time without a solid roof over our heads.
A couple weeks ago, as I was speedily walk-running to keep up with my daughter, biking around in circles around Porteau Cove Campground, she declared how much she loves camping. She then asked me ‘Mama, can we live here at Porteau Cove?’ I wish I could’ve said yes. Instead, I asked her what makes her love it so much, to which she didn’t quite have the words. She responded simply saying, ‘because it’s so beautiful’.
I am no doctor or child’s psychologist, but I am a mother and once a nature thriving child myself. The benefits to which I believe Daisy felt, are as simple and as complex as her answer.
It is physically so beautiful. Howe Sound, the mountains, the islands, the trees, the sunsets, the night’s sky and the stars, even the racoons and camp robbing Stellar Jays.
It’s also beautiful for our psyches. Our nervous systems can relax, we feel more in synch feeding off one anothers ease. Taking a deep sigh, breathing in the fresh air, regulating on mother nature’s clock.
Their giggles as they bounce around their play tent. Their creativity as they make art from pinecones and rocks. The way the light reflects and twinkles off their soft skin as we play in tide-pools. Their pride after they squat for another ‘wild wee’. It’s all too gorgeous to capture by word. It’s a lived experience that penetrates our beings, along with their growing minds.
Our time together is beautiful. The time to disconnect, to truly connect, for all of us. The presence that we experience together while camping is unlike anything we can get at home.
Once setup is complete, we are there with the kids. Fully present without the nagging thoughts that accompany us at home. And sure, we still have to make meals and do the dishes, but the kids join us in this process; there are no walls dividing where they’re playing and where we’re ‘working’. The weight that lifts when on holiday, is also lifted when camping, and the kids feel it. Immediately. Camping being much more cost efficient and easy access than planning out most ‘holidays’.
But don’t get me wrong, packing and unpacking from camping can take time and work, a full day on either end, easily, depending on how long the adventure. Sometimes I drag my heels and think the work isn’t worth it, but once we go, there are never any regrets, even if it’s pouring rain – we’re outside.
I have a motto that came to me many years back when I was hesitating on whether or not to go for a hike through the woods. I had a laundry list of things nagging at me, so close to skipping the walk and staying indoors. But as I started out through the trails, my head unloaded, and it became so clear:
‘When in doubt, get out.’
I live by it. If I’m on the fence now, I just go. The puzzle pieces of life magically find their place, once you let go, and let nature be your guide.
And my goodness, it is beautiful, in far more ways than one, every single time.
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