Why spending time alone in nature is more than a break, it's a small victory.
Dear Travel Journal,
Today, as the Nature Quarter Editor of VAGMAG, which defines itself as a "gender-aware travel journal with timeless stories," we will talk about spending time alone in nature.
While many people complain about loneliness, I believe that one of the greatest luxuries of the 21st century is spending quality time alone. Doing this in nature as a woman is perhaps considered ultra-luxury.
Spending quality time is one of Gary Chapman's five love languages. While examining our relationships with others and striving to improve ourselves, I believe we also need to examine our relationship with ourselves.
Seven years ago, in the first of my coaching sessions, I realized how far I was from the life I wanted when evaluating my routines within a circle using a scoring system.
Taking my first step out of my comfort zone with the question "Who am I?" was bold, but every time I look back, all I think is "I’m glad I did."
Not just the Nature Quarter, but VAGMAG as a whole —inspired by the seasons and following them sequentially: Sports, Culture, Gastronomy, and finally the Nature section— wants to inspire you to take that first step out of your comfort zone with our Hey Auntie project.
Just go to the page and reach out to us.
Now, let's start talking about my first solo step into nature.
It's hard to wake up for a morning run; the bed always feels warmer and more comfortable. Meeting new people seems difficult; we're afraid of being judged.
However, after morning walks and runs, even if challenging, only satisfaction remains. The flush on our faces after that run looks better than our best makeup more natural, more sincere, more real.
It's the same with meeting new people. At first, we're afraid of not understanding each other. We think our lives will always be spent with people we've known since childhood. Friendships made after a certain age don't feel as close as childhood friendships.
However, every new person I meet is someone who knows me as I am at that moment. They know me as the person I am in that period of my life. This means not being judged for a mistake I made in childhood. These are people who have never seen the emotions I couldn’t manage during adolescence. And perhaps, it means being able to understand the similar periods we are in during that phase of our lives in the best way. It means looking from the same point, in a similar direction and your encounter definitely has a meaning.
“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.’” Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
As Plath said, being in nature is being happy. Dozens of excuses rush into our minds before going out. At first, it feels as difficult as going for a morning run or meeting someone new, but after daring and taking that first step, only the feeling of happiness remains. Perhaps words fly, actions are forgotten but feelings always stay with us.
The satisfaction that comes with mild fatigue after a walk, and the moments when we feel unjudged and belong when we meet someone, always stay with us.
After taking the frightening first step, what needs to be done is not to think.
Getting swept away by the flow without thinking just dealing with the next step that needs to be taken. If we have a plan, that’s even better. We just need to do what we planned: to complete the desired route in the desired time. We dared and took the time to plan a solo walk in nature. This is truly a moment to be celebrated, as Maggy mentioned in VAGMAG Sunday Postcards #6 | Make You You.
Just as she said:
"Sometimes the most powerful victories don’t come with a round of applause. They come with a quiet smile after speaking your mind. An early morning walk when you could’ve stayed in bed. A day where your anxiety didn’t win. A moment of peace in the middle of the mess. Celebrate that."
The full VAGMAG Sunday Postcard is here, click.
Celebrate this quality time you've treated yourself to, and celebrate yourself.
I want to talk about why spending time alone in nature is a luxury, especially for a woman, but on the other hand, I don't like the idea of creating a negative atmosphere by talking about the realities we all know in today’s conditions and at the point we’ve reached.
When I told my relatives that I would go on the Camino de Santiago journey alone as a woman, their reaction, without hiding or censoring, was:
“Are you crazy?”
Now I laugh thinking about it, but it seems that those reactions, combined with my fears at the time, triggered something in me.
Even if we don't believe all the comments made about our lives, that doesn't mean we don't internalize them unwillingly. Therefore, I think we should be very careful when stating our opinion to someone. Moreover, whether that opinion was asked for is also very important.
That is, there is a big difference between saying "I'm going to Camino de Santiago alone" and "Should I go to Camino de Santiago alone?"
We all have hopes, fears, dreams. Although I wanted to have this experience, I remember how difficult it seemed to me at first doing it alone, as a woman as much as the weight of that first step.
Still, as I always say: Isn’t the hard way the only way we grow?
Gender equality is not treated as a theme at VAGMAG.
We believe that equality is not just a topic or a theme.
At VAGMAG, created with inspiration from the four seasons and designed to make us feel at home everywhere, gender equality is a perspective.
Equality is in every step, every plan, every area because that's how it should be.
With this perspective, remembering that first step I once found difficult to take, I now invite you to nature to spend quality time with yourself.
Just grab your desired drink, one of Maggy's delicious sandwich recipes in a VAGY bag that suits your style, and hit the road.
We have routes from all over the world, which we think will suit you and which we’ve enriched over time. You know well where to find them.
VAGMAG Routes: Sports Routes Culture Routes Gastronomy Routes Nature Routes
If you still can't dare to take the first step if you feel close to hitting snooze on your alarm like with morning runs, don’t worry about that either.
Just write to us, share with us.
As I mentioned before, our Hey Auntie project is just for this.
Whatever is holding you back from taking that step, just write to us. Perhaps a single word you hear from us who were hesitant at first just like you will give you the courage.
Let’s just share our feelings, as we do in our Sunday Postcards written with an open heart, like writing to a friend, or in our monthly letters.
Women should feel safe not only in nature but everywhere. Feeling safe and creating a safe environment begins primarily with trusting ourselves. Our self-confidence spreads to our surroundings.
Hitting snooze on a morning alarm and choosing to rest instead of going for a run is a choice. Doing it every day becomes a habit. However, when you feel accountable to a community with V4G CLUB runs, this habit can be broken and moreover, it's never too late.
Eating comfort food when you truly need it is also normal, but choosing to eat it every day means making it a habit and staying in your comfort zone.
Staying in your comfort zone, on the other hand, breaks our self-confidence every time and explains why we don't spread trust around us.
We don't need anyone else to know or remind us that we are someone who doesn't keep their promises to themselves, we know it.
The time you spend in nature can help you step out of this comfort zone and, more importantly, trust yourself.
And really, all it takes is wanting it. You don’t need any budget or anyone else. You just need to want it.
If you’ve read this article this far, it means you’ve already started wanting it.
with care,
Idalia
