Rewild Soul: For those who know there’s more: Get out of your office chair, connect with yourself in the woods

By Brielle Elise, Transformative Coach of Rewild Soul.

As some of us spend our 9-to-5’s sitting and typing our souls (and butts) away, there is, for some, a little voice inside that quietly whispers, “There’s more to this life, isn’t there?” While there are some who feel truly satisfied with how they’re spending their days, there are a few souls out there who, consciously or not, feel a sense of painful complacency accentuated by at least a tiny spark of curiosity or longing for what more there could be.

We feel this as we endlessly dance our thumbs down our phone screens, scrolling through facebook and Instagram feeds, searching for … What exactly? Maybe inspiration, hope, joy, something to laugh at. But what are we really searching for? Honestly, probably distraction from the pain of the mundane life.

But perhaps what we’re truly looking for is fulfillment, meaningful connection to others, and maybe even more so, real connection to ourselves.

We, Amber and Brielle (two business-savvy, backpack-wearing, trail-walking women on a mission), believe that there’s nothing wrong with this feeling. Actually, we believe it’s a very good sign – a sign of life on seemingly barren land.

But what do we do when we realize that we’re unfulfilled in our lives, yet we feel unclear about what we do want? Or on the opposite end of the spectrum, what do we do when we know what we want, but we feel stuck with how to get there? It’s our deep understanding of these questions and the spark of life behind them that inspired us to create Rewild Soul.

Rewild Soul is our Gainesville-born not-for-profit organization that we formed to fan that spark of desire for life. Our mission is to change lives by introducing professionals to self-discovery through empowering wilderness experience. We do this by bringing groups of strangers (new friends) into the wilderness for fun multi-day hiking and canoeing adventures and guiding them through meaningful self-connecting and group-connecting processes along the journey. This might look like a guided group conversation around a campfire, or solo journal prompts near a waterfall; processes in settings that help our participants experience the authentic and fulfilling connection that we search for in facebook news feeds.

Along the way, we also teach people the basics of backcountry camping, like how to sleep, eat, and (yes, you guessed it) poop, in the woods with confidence and glory.

Rewild Soul is our response to that little voice inside that desperately asks, “There is more to life, isn’t there!?”

“Yes, there is,” we say! And we believe that we can only find that “more to life” when we care about ourselves enough to make the time in our lives to self-connect, and ask ourselves rich and meaningful questions.

Our Rewild Soul wilderness adventures, and the introspective processes that distinguish them, help our participants get clear about what truly matters to them and have fun while doing it because, yes, self-discovery is fun, especially in the woods.

We are proud to say that so far a variety of people, of different ages (as young as 22 and as young as 64), of different backgrounds, and with different life scenarios have come on our trips. Some join us to get out of their office chairs and have fun in the woods, others come to get clarity and inspiration for their lives, and some come just to learn the basics of backcountry hiking without much interest in self-reflection.

Whatever the case, our post-trip surveys show that through the power of authenticity in wild spaces, our trip participants return home feeling connected to themselves, others, and nature; and inspired to bring the self-trust and inspiration that they accessed on the trip into their lives.

Our next trip, “Rewild Your Voice,” leaves Gainesville on Nov. 9 for Providence Canyon, Georgia. The focus of this 3.5-day hiking trip is to experience the sweet freedom of courageous self-expression. Processes will include group conversations, journal prompts, and singing and yelling our voices free in the canyons.

We’re accepting just 8 people on this trip, and registration lasts until October 26.

We believe that self-connection is available from right you’re we’re at in this moment – the office chair, the couch, or coffee shop. It all starts with a little spark of curiosity, and a choice to make ourselves important enough to inquire… what do I really want?

Check out our website to learn more: www.rewildsoul.com. D

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