Awakening The World Within: Feeding the Soul Thru Adventure

Photograph by Tabea Damm

As mother nature reawakens the natural world in spring, she reminds us to do the same — to awaken our sense of adventure, play, and expansion

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April…you have finally returned. Oh how we have missed you and your longer days, your sunlight…my mind swirls with possibilities. As plants gently awaken I begin to stir with desire for adventure. In the quiet before the summer crowds and the full bloom of Mother Nature’s bounty in our garden…I hold space in between for all that is shifting and changing for play.

This summer I plan to learn my trees (some of you may know that I recently moved and have to acquaint myself with my new neighbors), find even more mushrooms and go on more picnics. I may even go camping, just sayin’. There are festivals and Mycology (a branch of biology studying fungi) gatherings, not to mention full moon fires, Herkimer mining and even a butterfly conservatory in Massachusetts that I’ve been wanting to visit. I know, from mushrooms to wings…I geek out on nature.  

Do you catch a theme? I’m excited about it all.

That sounds great, right? Then I ask myself, am I really going to do all of those things?

I am more likely to act on my dreams and wishes when I write them down with pen and paper. So I’m starting here with you, stating and sharing my intentions. I then add those activities to my calendar right alongside doctor appointments and work meetings. This brings me two steps closer to bringing them to fruition. And even if I don’t get to all of the things I dream about in the spring its ok, I just reschedule them further ahead until I do them all.

Besides we have to leave a bit of room for spontaneity as well. We never know when we might get a hit to take an impromptu adventure or another idea will pop up.

Sometimes we disregard their importance and how much they feed us. Sure, vacations are wonderful, but why stop there? Road trips are good for the soul. Look, next week will still arrive whether or not you took the time to take a different route home, just for the fun of it, to check out something new.

Make the time for detours and adventure — and to delight your inner child…s/he’s always up for adventure!

Also, please gift yourself some down time as often as possible...even during adventures. I have found that the slow moments in between the busy, carve out the deepest memories.

The first time I came to Woodstock from Jersey City with my kids, it rained almost every day. The ominous sky was a constantly shifting palette of light gray to dark charcoal and slate. But all of that rain showed me something special about this place, its quiet side that is often overlooked. Standing in the doorway of a rental house in town, I soaked in the lush beauty, breathed in the fragrant earth and sharp citrusy-pine in every breath. The sparrows sang and played in the rain. That was a slow moment during an adventure that holds my heart and left an imprint.

Adventures can be close to home, a wander around your block or in the woods as if you’ve never been there. It can be a trip to somewhere new, or even reading a book in a new genre that is unlike anything you’ve ever read before. It’s about daydreaming and expanding — your world outside and in.

Hello spring, so glad to see you again ol’ friend. Thank you for reawakening our world and the world within me. May the adventures begin!

—Chef Christine Moss, The Garden Cafe Woodstock