Kristin Bauer Instagram – I have found that we don’t glorify human powers living in the wild. You don’t think of yourself as being in control. Creation, evolution, natural selection didn’t culminate, didn’t reach its zenith, with us. In the wilderness, it never occurs to you that you might be able to rule nature. All you want to do is learn about its ways and be part of it; honour the elephant, lion, leopard, python, and crocodile. Modern society strives to dominate nature. I am an emissary, a scientist sent out on expedition to discover nature’s secrets. In space telescopes, particle accelerators, genomic studies, eDNA, and remote sensing satellites, we devote our greatest human efforts to the discovery of the secrets of the universe and the true nature of reality. In the wild, we busy ourselves classifying and categorizing all life to own its future. Human beings resent the existence of arbitrary powers beyond us. Palaeontology is proof that our attempts to dominate nature will be futile. The “wilderness mind”, our true human nature, is an attitude of quiet surrender to the capriciousness of chance. Wild life is a powerful surrender to the fragility of all human endeavours and to the provisional nature of our assumptions about the world. The human experience in the wild reminds us of the importance of adaptability, resilience, and acceptance when navigating the uncertainties of life. The unpredictable and often whimsical nature of random events has significant impacts on us, our plans, and the world around us. Magic is the science of nature. Living in the wilderness you are humbled by nature’s unpredictability. In wild experience, you begin to understand that what’s going on inside your mind, “I”, is really everything going on outside. You become the direct experience of every living creature, the sound of the birds, and the tracks and signs of all life. You are the fire, wind, and water, and the earth between your toes. You realize that all things change, there is nothing to hold onto, and death is part of living. There’s nothing to fear. All you need is love in the eternal now. In the wilderness, the art of living well and the art of dying well are inseparable. Photo: @jessartes