Nature Connection: Get Outside And Then Vote

Fall, being a season of farewell as well as transitions of all sorts, is a busy time for many of us. There are gardens to tend, outdoor furniture to put away, seasonal changes in clothes closets, as well as furnace tuneups and storm window assessments. We’ve reacquainted ourselves with cooking indoors, and for those of us who hang laundry out all summer, the realization that although we can still hang clothes outside, most of them won’t dry all the way anymore.

This fall we can also vote, and this election isn’t for sitting back and letting others do the hard work. This election is for everyone. Please do your civic duty and vote responsibly. Our very democracy depends on these votes, and in our history as Americans, this may be the most important vote you ever cast. 

Human compassion, the environment, education, women’s and children’s rights, the rights of gay and trans people, people of color, people of various religions, all are in jeopardy as well as many other things. Cast your vote as if it matters because it does. 

In the midst of all the fall doings, I’ve been involved in the Write Out Cape Cod sponsored by the Barnstable Land Trust as well as the one run by the Brewster Conservation Trust. These gatherings have been simple and rather joyous. We gathered, talked a little about writing and nature and where the two may come together, and then went out to experience nature in the moment and write and share a little bit about it.

No one needed to be a writer with a resume to participate. All were welcome. If you missed joining one of these groups I highly recommend you take yourself and a notebook and a pen or pencil outdoors and take a little walk. Either stand or sit somewhere and observe, listen, smell and feel the moment. Write about it. There is no right or wrong answer, no right or wrong way to do this. However you want to construct your sentences is totally up to you. I promise you no grammarian from your middle school will be watching over your shoulder. Just write. Or not. The whole purpose of this experience is to just experience it. Take a moment, breathe in the air, pay attention, and let everything else be pushed aside for a minute or two.

We are living in a supersonic world with pictures and words flying by us so quickly it is impossible to absorb or contemplate it all. I’ve read that we experience more media in a year than our grandparents did in their long lives through tumultuous times. No wonder we are always stressed. Add to that the constant muttering about AI and the imminent end of the world and all the corruption and cheating and stealing and, well, our brains deserve a break. So do our hearts.

Last week I was fortunate to join a Writing Cape Cod workshop led by David Gessner and his sister, Heidi Gessner. David has 19 books to his credit, many of which deal with nature here on the Cape, including his “Return of the Osprey” which is currently celebrating its 25th year of publication. He is also a professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where he teaches nature and essay writing. Heidi Gessner’s “Pockets of Grace” and her experience as a life coach that specializes in working with people experiencing grief and other life transitions brought another element to the program. In a word, it was fantastic.

For four days we walked, contemplated, wrote, discussed, listened, laughed, and sat quietly awed as everyone worked on their essays. We were given assignments and suggestions and the little outdoor building at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History which was one of its original buildings was filled with lively and thoughtful discourse. The museum, which sponsored the workshop, also made sure we ate well, bringing us pre-ordered lunches each day at noon. A shoutout here for David Marsland, who took amazing care of us!

If you’ve never attended a workshop for writing or painting or whatever, they can be very wonderful, especially if you go with an open mind and heart.

My goal was to learn to write longer pieces, and since I am frequently asked to put together a book based on my columns, perhaps a book. I didn’t get quick or easy answers to the questions I didn’t ask, but I did learn a lot about my process and see the places where I could improve and perhaps move into the next level. Time will tell.

The one thing that impressed me most during these two weeks of writing out in nature here on Cape Cod is how easy it is to busy ourselves and then forget to get outside. During the days of the wild winds last week, I stopped at a beach on the bay side. The wind was so fierce, sand was blowing in my face from the dunes hundreds of yards away. The water was wild, agitated and frothy, the waves banging the sand as if they needed to break through to treasure below. Birds flew low over the water, trying to avoid being tossed around, but most gulls sat on the sand, heads buried beneath their wings. I only had a few minutes before an appointment and although I knew it was a windy day, if I hadn’t stopped to see the sea and the blowing sand, I would only have had a thought, not an experience. It took hours to get all the sand out of my hair, and I was able to feel that wind and smell the sea while I did.

Although it isn’t imperative for us all to get out every day, I hope that most of us can get outdoors as often as possible. Go on bad days, wet days, cold days, and hot days. Feel, smell, hear, and see. And then remember all that when you vote. It’s important.