My Rewilding Year_The Earthy Writer Podcast by Gisele Stein_ Author Photo Ocean

My Rewilding Year.

(This text is an excerpt from my reader’s group letters. Sign up here for future letters.)

It started with a hunch, a little idea I had out on a nature walk one afternoon, not too long ago. But from there, it quickly transformed into a fully fleshed plan, a journey I was going to embark on for my 37th year on this earth.

That’s right: It’s my birthday this month and at almost 37, I feel as much on the cusp of something new as I did at 27.

Many of you might be familiar with the journey I embarked on at 27. My ‘rewilding’ chapter one:

I left everything I knew behind to go to South Africa for a year to become a safari guide, and later a trails guide, approaching wild elephants, lions, buffalo (you get the picture) on foot. Yep, I really did that. Sometimes, I forget.

Chapter two won’t be nearly as ‘life-threatening’. The last one was very much a physical, an outward challenge. But I am older now, and this next adventure will be much more of an inner journey. And I am just as excited for it. Because running off to the South African bush to rewild myself was… you might laugh… but that was fairly easy. 

When you thrust yourself right in the middle of the wild – the wild will absorb you.

However, I have always said – and I stand firm by my word – that you do not need to live amongst elephants to live a life connected to nature. In fact, that felt almost like cheating. That’s what I mean when I said it was easy. And when I left the African bush behind at the start of the pandemic to live with my husband in Australia… well, for a while there, I lost that connection to Mother Nature. 

Rewilding the Soul: more than a physical change.

That’s when I realised: It is not enough to make a physical change.

You cannot walk into a library and expect to know all the books. You have to read them, too.

Now, I’m not saying that I didn’t learn anything during my year among the elephants – I learnt a ton. So much, in fact, it could fill a whole book (which is what I did, actually: I filled a whole book about it which was published in German under my maiden name). Spoiler: I’m currently also writing a new novel about elephants…

But you see, today I am just like anybody else struggling to make the learnings stick in everyday life. I am a fulltime author now and I love my work. But this isn’t about work. This is about my days and how I would like to approach them, to make the most of them. It’s also about my role on this planet, and how I can be of service.

Here’s the thing: I have a list of wild things I wish to incorporate into my days, with the goal to live in harmony with nature, no matter where I go. And that is where you come in:

I need an accountability partner – or several.  I’m telling you about my plan for the upcoming twelve months because I know that, if I don’t, I won’t do it. I won’t prioritise these things meant to enrich my life and that of others, because – well – I am human, and thus: lazy. If given the chance, I will always rather lie on the couch and watch Netflix than go outside and learn from the moon.

So, here is the plan:

For the next twelve months, I will commit to do one thing from my list for 21 days straight, and then I will share with you what I have learnt in my brand new podcast:

(Find all current episodes here.)

My Rewilding Year Podcast

New episodes will come out every New Moon and Full Moon – which comes with the added bonus that you will always know what the moon is up to. The first episode of each moon cycle will introduce this month’s challenge and then dive deeper into another rewilding-topic. In the second one I will share my experiences and learnings of the particular challenge in depth.

Eleven of the twelve challenges are picked by me, the twelfth one you get to vote on.

My goal with this rewilding year is to truly deepen my connection with nature, to find stillness and silence within, and to foster a lifelong connection to the land.

…Maybe you do, too?

Frankly, there is a lot on that list that will – quite literally – be a challenge for me, and what scares me most is to record the podcast (plus filming myself doing all those things). But I know the fear is exactly why this is a good idea.

There’s a quote from a book I will be referring to a lot throughout this year (it’s called “Speaking with Nature”), and it goes like this:

“… as Earth changes, we need to come out of hiding and be seen. If you found comfort blending in with your surroundings, the goddess energies, the feminine, might now be asking you to stand out and make your strengths known. It is time to share what is bubbling up from deep within you, to show up and be seen and heard.”

I’m excited and absolutely *not* ready for this. But the first episode will air, come what may, on the upcoming New Moon, which is on the tenth of Feb. Of course, you’ll get a reminder once it’s out.

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