[agumonkey]

> putting food on a plate that came from your yard, from your care.

Can't second this enough. This connection between soil (direct environment) to your gut is, as stupid as it seems, a marvellous thing.[1]

> There's something about sitting in a green (or red, or blue, or yellow, etc.) space that you made.

Few time I walk in a forest (semi-wild) I feel like a forest is like a big nest. Enough roof, enough sunlight, enough green things aronud. It feels very safe most of the time[0].

I'll add something, wood is so superb.. as a material too. Using it as construction (small or large) is a great pleasure. The soft sound, the soft touch, the pale color.. when seen with a bit of chemist eye, you appreciate it a lot.

ps: on volcanic side of caribean islands, the nature is also overwhelmingly present. Giving you a lot of opportunities to be around a tiny stream of clear water surrounded by plants. You know people listening to rainy sonuds to relax. It was an amplified version of this. It made my mind trip in a weird way, as if flowing water became my time source and made me forget about the world.

[0] there are times where your spidey senses will wake up though, which is also super surprising because it's not like fear or stress. It's N times more acute senses and focus. Almost a pleasure.. especially considering how dull a modern daily life can make you feel.

[1] society forgot that because of modern times social delegation but it should be a human right. Today you may not have enough to do your own food growing. If you fall of the city tree you'll starve.

[jniedrauer]

> there are times where your spidey senses will wake up though, which is also super surprising because it's not like fear or stress. It's N times more acute senses and focus. Almost a pleasure.. especially considering how dull a modern daily life can make you feel.

After about 3 weeks into a multi thousand mile hike, senses that I didn't even realize I had started to wake up. I could sense animals in the woods around me. I couldn't say if this was sound, smell, or something else, but I just knew they were there. Sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night, immediately knowing that something was going after my food. I also began to sense water sources from very long distances. This was probably a combination of smell and recognizing terrain patterns. Weather was another big one. I gained an intuitive sense for the storm patterns in the mountains, and I could see them changing with the terrain as I moved.

It took half a decade for the positive side effects of that hike to wear off.

[agumonkey]

Makes me want to walk in the country side alone. In France there's almost no real danger (except the eventual hunter).

Anyways it's odd how our world evolved toward comfort and disconnecting us from such important part of us.

[jniedrauer]

Someday if I've got a few months to spare, I'd love to hitchhike around Europe. Seems like a pretty cool place to wander.

[gehwartzen]

It certainly is and in much of Europe it's a legal right:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam

[agumonkey]

the whole germany and its surroundings is also choke full of bike lane (according to https://old.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/bdvap6/cycling_lan...)

[Judgmentality]

> After about 3 weeks into a multi thousand mile hike

How far and how long did you hike for? I just can't imagine walking through the woods for so many months. Also where did you hike?

[jniedrauer]

I winter hiked the Appalachian trail, starting in Amicalola Falls on January 1st. I ran out of money near Harpers Ferry, so I made it about 1100 miles.

I highly recommend doing this type of thing at least once in your life. I dreamed about using computers at night for about the first 3 weeks, and then my brain reverted to a more primitive state and I never missed tech again or felt bored for the entire time I was out there. It's very freeing.

Although if you're going to winter thru hike, winter hiking experience and good equipment is essential. A few sections ended up borderline mountaineering, which in retrospect was very foolish to attempt alone and with no experience. I did not know what I was getting into, and I got extraordinarily lucky a few times while learning how to survive outside during the winter through trial and error. Also had to spend most of the money I saved on better equipment, which is why I had to cut my hike short.

[dpc59]

Look at the appalachian and pacific crest trails. Its really hard in occidental countries to be more than 50km from a city, so you always have places to buy food.

[lowdose]

You must have come across some very delicate mushrooms while making your way.

[BrandonMarc]

> This connection between soil to your gut is a marvelous thing.

Indeed, some research is pointing to the beneficial effects on your microbiome, too. The microscopic critters in the soil where you live may be very well co-evolved to live there, and there's a body of reasoning which says since you live there, too, they can be - sometimes - be very helpful to your own body.

(not that you should eat dirt, of course)

[agumonkey]

Fair point although I only had the psychological link from feeling able to understand nature (aka most of the planet) to sustain your life (feeding but also whatever use you can make with plants, roots, wood etc).

[badpun]

People often just buy soil for their gardens in the local megastore. That soil is often dried peat and has nothing to do with local environment of your garden.