The Question of Wilderness

A newcomer stands on a crowded subway platform below the streets of New York, frozen in an effort of heightened senses.

Nearly 265 miles west, a group of recent high school graduates humps a trail in Appalachia, each carrying only a backpack and a map.

Near the foothills of their journey, a breeze blows wildflower seed across an untouched  prairie. The prairie itself is teeming with life held in a state of balance.

Another 400 miles west, a diverse group of people sort through the words of those who came before them, slowly stepping over and around new applications of old ideas.

Across town, a WWII veteran lies in a bed at the end of a hallway. Quiet to the world, he wanders inwardly through the rubble of France, wishing only to be with his first love. 

     Wilderness, by definition, is as vast and varied as the natural world.  During our first class, we discussed our ideas about what wilderness consists of. I personally defined wilderness as a place untouched or unaltered by civilization. Natural wilderness cannot be staged, as in a park. It isn't without order, but is the ruler of its own order and a form of law that sometimes even holds humanity within it's subjugation. 

     Despite it's vastness, there are pockets of literal wilderness all around us. We can see this by looking out the window of our homes or classrooms. Consider the sedum that blooms this time of year or a stand of cone flower, alive with the buzzing of bumble bees and hover flies. Below this superficial layer of activity, easily seen by any passerby, the system continues. Aphids engage defensively in battle with the lady beetle along the stems. Ants farm the honeydew and insects burrow at the soil level to continue their species into the next season. Roots forge subterranean paths around pebbles and through vole tunnels in search of mineral sustenance. It all exists in our front yards, dangerous and beautiful, yet contained in our carefully controlled civilized world.

In contrast with my ideas about natural wilderness, I learned that wilderness can really exist anywhere as a frame of mind. Some of us view wilderness as an unfamiliar place in the modern world.

                                       Is wilderness only a place? I dont think it is.

Wilderness is also an unchartered journey. It may be a lack of mental stability, or a sense of being lost. It is a great obstacle. It is what we wade through, climb over and come to understand as we find our way home.