On Nature and Wildlife

I grew up around damp fields and many farm animals. In the often rainy and smelly countryside of England. Where fields throughout the year were either occupied by horses, cows, and sheep. Or the tall wheat and corn that would grow throughout the summer months. I always enjoyed living in such a place, though it did sometimes get a bit too boring with little to do in the area. But that connection to nature and wildlife was something I knew I enjoyed, and it was something I knew would be difficult to give up in the event I ever moved elsewhere, no matter how much I felt like I needed to do it. I'm definitely not much of a city person. There's only so much of it I can take. I find I get sick more often in the city. I find I burn out faster in the city. I find I still love the city but long for the green again.

Even though the city can be a stressful place sometimes, I still need to get out into it. I still struggle to stay inside most of the time. And it was a recent trip again to Dilijan which had me remembering how much I missed being in the damp, cold wild. Where trees and fields were all the eye could see, though a bit different in this environment where it was mostly dense forestry and mountains. But it was perfect still. Feeling that fresh air and the cold. The dampness of the forest floor from the rains hours prior. And more surprisingly all of the wildlife that surrounded. Yerevan is a dry, desert landscape. There's nothing really to it. The most wild thing you might see is a stray dog or a rat. There's nothing really here beyond maybe a lizard lurking in the outskirts of the city.

It comes to no surprise that many studies have shown that people that live surrounded by greenery and wildlife tend to be happier. We aren't much different to it all. We are animals that long for the natural world and our chaotic modern lives have stripped that from us, turning us into depressed machines worrying about money and consumerism. Where the jungle is no longer full of natural sounds, but instead that of machine and concrete. The endless chugging of diggers constructing the next tall building full of artificial light. The honking of car horns as everyone races to be a fraction of as second ahead in an F1 race everyone is participating in, but only really against themselves. I felt so at peace just briefly walking in the woods, seeing a variety of animals around. Feeling the clean air within the lungs. I felt like everything had managed to slow down and that I was home again.

I don't really get homesick in that sense. It's not like I miss those English fields with some burning pain within the heart. It's more a general longing to return to the natural surroundings more than anything else. Whether it's in the dense mountains in which rock replace the skyscrapers that tower over. Or the tall canopy of trees which shields from the harsh sun above. Or just seeing the overgrowth of moss on a downed tree, seeing the natural order unfolding below the knee level.