Diary of a Young Naturalist

by Dara McAnulty

We are all custodians.

In a fast-paced and competitive world, we need to feel grounded. We need to feel the earth and hear birdsong. We need to use our senses to be in the world. Maybe, if we bang our heads against a brick wall for long enough, it will crumble and fall. And maybe the rubble can be used to rebuild something better and more beautiful, enabling our own wildness. Imagine that.

Dimming all sound, snow creates so much space in the mind.

Only in this weather can I process experience in real time with such clarity. Usually, it can be frightening because sights, sounds, feelings rush over me all at once. Sensory overloads that mean I can’t properly process most of my experience until later in the day, in a dark room, when I relive the moment from scratch, spilling it all onto the page.

We are nature. And without a community, when you’re always on your own, it’s more difficult to share ideas and to grow.