Lessons From Nature on Surviving Political Upheaval
We can always find safety and resilience by observing wildlife and immersing ourselves in nature
As a queer person doing their best to survive the past few months of political chaos, I’ve often turned to nature — specifically, wild animals — for guidance.
When confronted with an approaching winter and harsh climate, wild animals choose one of three approaches: Migrate to a more hospitable environment, conserve energy and hibernate or stay put and adapt to the new conditions.
This year, I’ve opted to hibernate, significantly limiting my news consumption and slowing the pace of my life. I’m spending more time at home tending to my plants and focusing my energy on the joy and peace I find in nature and my friendships. While I choose hibernation, all three choices are valuable approaches queer people can adopt to build resilience and care for themselves in the current political climate.
We might all fall somewhere different along this spectrum when trying to get through what could be a four-year-long political winter. Krista Marquardt, a designer who volunteers as a hiking and backpacking leader for the Venture Out Project in Northern Michigan, currently lives somewhere between hibernating and adapting.
“I balance being as outspoken and active as I can with having days where I need to sit in the basement in the dark with my dog and watch reruns of ‘Buffy,’” she says. Marquardt believes queer people should do whatever they need to feel safe and comfortable right now. She personally finds refuge in the woods.
For both Marquardt and myself, the renewal of spring serves as a reminder that no matter how bad things are currently, they will always change. Marquardt was reminded of this on a recent trail walk with her dog where she saw fiddlehead ferns, small grasses and mosses. Ramps and morels were popping their heads out. She reflected that no matter how dismal this winter felt, nature is still growing and the cycle of renewal hasn’t stopped.
For me, birdwatching is a huge source of comfort, and spring bird migration reminds me that no matter what is happening around or within me, birds will continue moving with the seasons. I’ve been spending more time in my safe place, a small nature sanctuary near my apartment that bustles with migrating birds each spring. During a recent visit, I even saw a mud-caked painted turtle enjoying their first sunning of the season after emerging from their winter brumation (reptiles’ version of hibernation) beneath the ground. They reminded me that even the slower-moving among us are always in motion.
Nature also offers a safe, meditative space for queer folks to be ourselves and process our emotions about current events.
Marquardt finds vulnerability in the woods because she can exist as her authentic self there without judgment. Among the trees and animals, there’s no one she has to be and nothing she has to do, she says, which creates space for her to breathe and sit still.
“When I’m overwhelmed, I sit down quietly or slowly walk and examine the moss, trees and mushrooms,” she says. “It helps me look at the world on a whole different scale. If we take time to look at the little things around us, it puts things into perspective and gives us a sense of grounding and solace.”
Connecting with nature can also offer measurable health benefits during this stressful time of upheaval. Benefits include reduced heart rate and blood pressure and improved mood and immune function, according to April Boyle, a forest therapy guide and certified yoga teacher in Pleasant Ridge. As part of their immune function, trees even emit compounds called phytoncides that boost our own killer cell activity — another benefit to spending more time in the woods.
“We have evolved with nature and with trees. We used to sleep in and around and under trees, so it makes sense that these things are connected,” Boyle says.
Forest therapy is based on the Japanese practice shinrin-yoku, meaning “forest bathing." The practice involves mindful immersion in nature using all senses. Forest therapy helps us get out of our heads and into our hearts and bodies, says Boyle, allowing us to slow down, breathe and remember that we are all part of nature. That we are never alone.
Group forest therapy walks also help foster community and connection with fellow humans, with guided walks offering invitations to share reflections and community tea at the end of the walk to integrate the practice. However, a sense of community with nature is just as important and requires a reciprocal relationship, says Boyle.
“It’s important to find ways to give back to the Earth and to nature. It doesn’t just flow one way,” she says. “This helps us feel not like consumers, but like a part of the web of life that we are collaborating within and supporting.”
Marquardt has a reciprocal relationship with a special 120-year-old silver maple tree that is the “heartbeat” of her backyard. She turns to the tree for connection and strength, providing it with tenderness and attention.
“I always look to her to see how she’s doing, and the leaves change every time I’m out there,” she says. “I touch her and try to connect with her, and I talk to her almost every day.”
A special tree is a great focal point for a “sit spot,” a practice that Boyle recommends for those interested in getting started with forest therapy. A sit spot is a place in nature that is comfortable to sit in for 20 minutes or longer, allowing one to observe the comings and goings of animals.
“It can be in a park or hiking trail, a little patch in your backyard or a single tree that you find beautiful or comforting,” she says. “After about 20 minutes, animals will settle and return to their regular behavior, and you can slow down and reconnect in a presence of complete non-judgment and acceptance.”
Leading up to Pride season, I’ve been spending time in my favorite sit spot — a bench in a garden that is slowly filling with robins and bunnies — and contemplating different ways to express my own Pride and queer resistance. Each year since I’ve come out, I’ve celebrated Pride in different ways, some louder than others. This year, I will continue my personal hibernation to protect myself and maintain a sense of quiet in my life. This is still a form of resilience, according to Marquardt.
“Resilience means never taking a step backward,” she says. “It can mean putting your head down, going out and making waves, or it can mean staying right where you are and securing your place. It can mean just existing.”
So I will keep on meandering through the woods, talking to the birds and trees and turtles — simply existing. And I invite anyone to join me in hibernation for however long they need. When I’m ready, I will pop my head out.
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