TOPHER TAKES ON NATURE.

Yes, indeed, I have agreed to go camping in the great beyond in the wilderness and I honestly don't know quite how I'm going to do it. I mean, don't get me wrong I love nature. When my dad was alive, we use to go out every week into the mountains or river, but those days are long gone. Now here I am going to the mountains with my brothers and we're basically living underneath the stars for the weekend. So, here I am the night before finally understanding that I don't have ANY camping supplies. What am I to do?!

This brings me to my weekly question: have we as a generation fallen behind in our love of nature? I mean, we look at the greats like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau who were the absolute essence of nature and existed just over a hundred years ago and inspired people for the next hundred years. But here we are in 2016 and I feel as if we've fallen out of love with nature...am I wrong? Here are these greats who made the trails that I now follow, but I am merely 'following' them and not forging my own trails. What do we as a generation need to do to rekindle this old love?

After my recent read of 'Shattered Air' by Bob Madgic, I am at a loss for words about nature and have been wanting to return. It's an amazing read and you have to read it - it's tough but definitely worth it. It is the true story about a group of people who were absolutely changed, for the better mostly, by the mere essence of nature being in their lives. I believe nature has the same healing effects we need today as a society. With the horrible election coming up and the drama of all the soap operas, maybe we all need a breath of fresh air. Nature gives you that release from all of your drama and literally takes your signal away so you can just let loose from the Twitter and Facebook drama.

That being said, I advise everyone go out and enjoy nature for a little bit. Of course, now here I am still sitting here writing this having absolutely no idea what I'm going to wear and bring or what I'm going to eat and I'm honestly at this point just going to get eaten by a bear. Oh well. I lived a good 20 years. Maybe I'll come back with a refined thought process on the world and can solve of our world issues, because nature will have refreshed me or maybe I'll just come back frozen to the core, a few pounds lighter and irritable from bug bites and cuts and bruises. We'll see and if I write another article next week, I'll be alive.

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.- Henry David Thoreau