Finding Your Wild

What does "getting wild" mean to you? Far from reckless behavior, true wildness might simply mean living unrestrained and growing in your natural environment. In this heartfelt exploration, I share how my definition of wild—digging in garden dirt, feeling sunshine on my face—differs drastically from my college-aged daughters' interpretation.

As our lives become increasingly dominated by technology and structure, reconnecting with our wild spirit feels more precious than ever. This wildness doesn't require climbing mountains or taking risks; it's available in micro-adventures right in your backyard. Whether it's trying a new recipe, picking roadside flowers, or simply allowing yourself to go to bed before finishing all your work—wild is a spirit, not a specific set of actions.

Take a moment today to consider what wild needs to look like in your life. Where can you bring a tiny piece of unrestrained living into your day? These small moments of authentic connection might just be the key to finding the peace and contentment we're all seeking. Subscribe now to join our community of intentional living and discover more ways to create harmony in your everyday life.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Create Harmony

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Welcome back to the Create Harmony podcast. So in this place, we are all about setting an intentional rhythm, and we like to talk about how to savor life's blessings and learn how to use our imagination as a way of listening to God. Do you want to find more peace and contentment in life? Well, if you do, you'll probably find a lot here that you love, and if you like to be creative and fun, there's a place for you here as well. In this place, we'll take a few minutes to celebrate our everyday joys and to remind ourselves how to notice goodness that's all around us.

Speaker 1: 0:39

So this is episode 126, and I'm your host, sally Burlington, and today we're going to talk about getting wild, and doesn't that remind you of peaceful living? Well, here's what I mean by wild. The actual definition of the word wild is living or growing in a natural environment, not domesticated, or another version of the definition is unrestrained, and I love that word unrestrained. Now, why are we talking about this right now? Well, one of the reasons is one of the reasons this came to my mind is that I'm currently living with two college age daughters. They're both living at home right now One just graduated and the other one's home for the summer, and if you've ever been around college kids much, you know that their version of wild is very, very different from my version of wild. They are completely different. So their version of wild, whether they participate or not, involves a lot of late nights and a lot of noise and probably some drinking and a whole lot of other shenanigans. It's frat parties, it's concerts, it's you know, a lot of rowdy living.

Speaker 1: 1:48

And then my version of wild is completely different. It includes much more about digging in the dirt and trying to avoid bugs or critters. It includes being outside and feeling the sun on my cheeks and the breeze through my hair. And what made me think about this was I was planting some things in my yard. I'm normally more of a container gardener, but I was digging a hole in the yard and I had to sit down to get closer to the soil and I was like sitting in the mulch and I was sweaty and I was dirty and there were bugs climbing on me and I thought this is my version of getting wild. This is how I get. Wild is to be out here, digging in this dirt.

Speaker 1: 2:31

And while we live in a world where machines and technologies permeate many of the places we go, almost everywhere we go, wild seems even more precious and reconnecting to the wild spirit in the wind. It really to me seems like a healthy step. And that got me thinking about the original definition of wild and I wondered if finding your own version of wild might be the key to happiness. Take, for example, my own daughters. If we look back to the definition of wild and see the word unrestrained. There is a way you could frame that to include doing things your own way, not conforming to everything you see on social media, growing in your own natural way and not following along and doing everything you see others do and you know what. It's exactly the same for all of us.

Speaker 1: 3:25

Finding a way to bring the spirit of adventure into your life can mean a lot of different things. It doesn't have to be just climbing Mount Everest. It can be different for each of us. An adventure for me might be having a pool in my backyard and learning how to use it and how to enjoy it with friends. A wild adventure for you might be a trip to Europe, but listen, it can be trying out a new recipe or learning a new hobby. It doesn't have to be huge or expensive or elaborate. You can do wild on a micro scale. You can be wild right at home, in your own backyard, figuring out a way to live and grow in new ways that do not restrain you.

Speaker 1: 4:06

Wild is a spirit, not a specific set of actions, and wild doesn't have to be dangerous or risky. It can be taking one small step outside your comfort zone and we can embody the spirit of wildness on any given day. So take a moment to think about what wild needs to look like for you. Where can you bring a tiny piece of it into your day? Is it a moment of play with your kids or your dog in the yard? Is it picking wildflowers by the side of the road? Is it going to bed early, even if all your work isn't finished? Is it making notes about a story you want to write, even if you never get around to writing that story? Find your wild or let it find you. Little moments of wild are available every day, and you will be glad that you did day and you will be glad that you did so.

Speaker 1: 5:08

One way to bring the spirit of wildness into my life is through the books and the art of an artist named Katie Daisy, and I've talked about her before. She has two books so far. One's called how to Be a Moonflower, which is all about celebrating darkness and things that thrive in night, and then another one called how to Be a Wildflower, which is about embracing nature and y'all. These books are filled with interesting facts and lovely art. In how to Be a Wildflower, she divides the chapters into four categories, so it's Wander, gather, savor and Ponder, and there are poems and quotes throughout the book, like, for example, in the chapter called Wander, she makes a list of all sorts of adventure things, and these are things like a flashlight, a pocket knife, a bandana. And in the chapter called Savor, she has a list of edible plants. It is chock full of pretty things and fun ideas. She also has an Etsy store where you can find other merch.

Speaker 1: 6:02

I bought some beautiful coffee mugs that I drink out of every day. They all include her sunny and colorful art. So I love Katie Daisy, and so for our closing today, I'm going to share her instructions from the book how to Be a Wildflower on how to evoke a daydream, and it goes like this Gather three or more of the following items A cup of tea, a journal, fresh cut flowers, a rainstorm, old photographs. Your favorite book, a wishing dandelion, a crystal, your favorite book, a wishing dandelion, a crystal. Find a quiet spot in a sunny meadow or in the shade of a tree. Take several deep breaths to sink into the moment. Gaze at your items for several minutes, close your eyes and drift away into a pleasant thought or a faraway place, a creative idea, a sweet memory. Take another deep breath, stay a while.

Speaker 1: 7:23

May it be so. Thanks so much for joining us today as we talked about how to embody the spirit of wildness. Hopefully you'll find some wild, your own version for your own life, and hope you'll come back next week as we talk more about how to find small joys in your everyday life. And until next time, peace.

Speaker 2: 8:05

Thank you.