Into The Wild

If you haven’t had a chance to see Into The Wild when it came out in movie theaters last year, it’s now out on DVD and definitely worth a watch if you love movies with a great soundtrack, amazing nature photography and a sexy leading man.

From IMDB:

Based on a true story. After graduating from Emory University in 1992, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters who shape his life.

I rented it through Netflix and really enjoyed Sean Penn’s adaptation of the original novel, which was written by Jon Krakauer. Each person that Christopher meets during his travels on the road plays an important role in the development of his character which takes him all over the country.

I enjoyed the movie almost enough to want to quit my day job in the big city, but it has me thinking more about the absence of nature in my life and how important it is. Having the natural world around grounds you and puts things in perspective. A grassy patch on a lakefront in a big city is hardly enough to make me feel connected, and it’s difficult to feel connected to much of anything when there’s snow on the ground up to your eyeballs =)

In a few weeks I’ll be taking a week sabbatical to celebrate May Day (aka Beltaine) which always puts me in a better mood.. I’m packing my book of writings by Thoreau to read while camping under the stars….

How do you keep your connection to nature if you live in the big city?