Wilderness HEALING

When I was a little kid of about 4 or 5 years old I pushed a concrete pillar over and it hit me on the head. And I think that might have affected my outlook on life ever since. I'm 70km from the nearest town. They thought I was crazy, nuts, mad. How can you live on your own out there? I'm quite happy. When I arrived out here, it was difficult times for me. Things had happened in my life. My dad died. My mom died. My father-in-law died. I got divorced. It was a nightmare and it all happened in a very short period of time. I was on a different planet at the end of that very short period of internal drama. Everybody said you need to see a psychologist. And I said no, I need to sort it out. I needed to be alone to get my head around what I'd gone through. I ended up here in this wilderness environment. You know, the Karoo is a special place. It's got a silence that is deafening. The stars at night are just unsurpassable because of the clarity of the air. This kind of environment, it works. It gives back something. I didn't realise I was going to fix myself out here and it's taken me a long time to get through it and nature has been the one that pulled me through it. At least that's the way I see it. Having had that dramatic part in my life and having come out of it I think with a smile on my face I can't help but say maybe this is the answer. This is why we need wilderness. I can be in a bad mood because I got out of the wrong side of the bed and walk outside and a bird flies past. Within 5 minutes I'm in another world. I've calmed down. You're moving out of your bad mood. That's the kind of thing that happens out here. You can't believe what it does to you. People come out here with their cellphones and things and then you watch this change take place. Give them three days the cellphone is forgotten about they're looking at each other they're walking all over the place and they go back better people. Nature does that for you. Man is crazy. We try and make the world fit what we think it should be instead of trying to fit into the world. You've got to start looking at the plants you look at the succulents you look at the insects. Every single thing is interrelated. We need those things in order to stay human. Man is not a special creature. He is part of nature. We are here. We are part of the universe. The wilderness means a lot to me. I want to see it remain like it is. I want to see my grandchildren being able to appreciate it. I don't want it to be destroyed. If I had it by choice I'd say to everybody in their lives must spend 20 days in the Karoo on their own. They'd go back different people. I don't think there is any doubt about it it's changed me, yes. Thanks to all of you who helped make this film possible. All of our films are totally crowd funded. So if you'd like to continue to support us on our journey check out our Green Renaissance page on Patreon.

Channel: Reflections of Life

Views: 96,047

Keywords: green renaissance, sharing ideas, inspiring change, inspire, inspiration, karoo, wilderness, wild, silence, stars, open spaces, nature, heals, healing, cape town, south africa, prince albert, die hel, hel, fox, gamkapoort dam, therapy, heal, skies, remote, alone, lonely, loneliness, insects, cellphones, lederboer, patreon

Id: wfGCy3PJ2SA

Length: 5min 37sec (337 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 12 2019