The Kiddy Pool: Into the Woods

Last updated on: March 19, 2012 at 7:40 am by Erin Wyble Newcomb

The Kiddy Pool: Into the Woods 2012-03-19T07:40:25-06:00 Erin Wyble Newcomb

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Every week in The Kiddy Pool, Erin Newcomb confronts one of many issues that parents must deal with related to popular culture.

I love night running in the wintertime. I love the way my neighborhood changes in the early twilight, lit up by Christmas lights. I love taking off on a path in the woods, where the snow amplifies the moonlight and the muffled sounds transport me to Narnia. I fell in love with running long before I fell in love with my husband, long before I fell in love even with God. And, in a way, running brought me to both of them. My husband and I got to know each other through miles and miles of Pennsylvania forest punctuated by 3-mile long hills, snake encounters, and detours off the path with a bit of toilet paper. That last bit proved to me that he was a keeper—undeterred by my, um, naturalness.

Running brought me to God even before that though, as I found a peace and a beauty in the forests around me. I sought the woods at every opportunity, to run along a rushing stream, to dodge an angry flock of Canadian geese (they hiss) on a tow path, to sneak into the dirt mounds of the abandoned construction site behind the canal. My parents never knew where I explored, and my fascination with following rabbit trails, any sign of escape from the congested world around me, only deepened my faith. I sought streams and trees and animals, and when I found them, I found a transcendent beauty and serenity (what Romantic poets called the “sublime”) that solidified my certainty in the Creator before I ever had the language to describe that experience.

So when I picked up Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods this week, it felt like an affirmation from page one: “In nature, a child finds freedom, fantasy, and privacy: a place distant from the adult world, a separate peace.” Part narrative, part scientific study, part impassioned plea for social policy changes, Louv’s text outlines the many things that keep kids out of the wilderness (from fear of strangers and nature itself to lack of access to open spaces to shifting priorities about how children “ought” to spend their time). Yet Louv’s argument is clear and multi-faceted about why children (and all of us, really) need time with nature, where play is based on “loose parts”—creative, unstructured, not dictated by the rules and boundaries and limits of official playground equipment or toys.

Now, Louv doesn’t argue against the use of technology and media or education and institutions, but he reminds readers that those experiences are not interchangeable with nature. He documents the therapeutic, creative, and even spiritual benefits of green spaces, from rooftop gardens to sprawling forests. Lying beneath a canopy of stars or dipping into an ocean that stretches beyond the horizon cannot be simulated without losing the very sublimity that gives us a glimpse of God. Instead of encouraging fear, nature soothes anxieties and instructs us in paying attention to our surroundings. It can breed humility in the awareness of our smallness within the universe and wisdom in how to steward the awesome resources God provides. It can restore us to ourselves by removing us from ourselves. I still feel that peace, that joy, when I spend time in the woods; I breathe more easily, if only for a short time, and Louv’s book confirms my commitment to offer my daughter the chance to love nature too, and through it, to see God’s hand.

Asides

General Culture

the kiddy pool

Previous Post

March 19, 2012

Books Besides the Bible: The Image of Christ in The Hunger Games

Next Post

March 19, 2012 Citizenship Confusion: iPods (iPhones) and Community

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz