Rewilding

The concept of rewilding struck me the other evening. As I contemplated my journey into hagitude, I recognized it as a powerful return to my original essence, akin to restoring a piece of land to its natural state. Rewilding myself means reconnecting with my true home, my truth, and my authentic self. It involves rediscovering and embracing the ancient paths and ways, and in doing so, reclaiming both them and myself.

These are the timeless truths of our souls, the wisdom we have carried since the beginning of time. They represent our ancient paths to wisdom and connection, transcending logic, mathematics, physics, and conventional science. I speak of deeper truths—the ways of the earth and the air, the truths of the spirit.

Photo by Nathan Anderson

Rewilding as a woman navigating menopause is about reconnecting with your deepest truths, those that resonate at the core of your being. Women's wisdom is deeply intertwined with the earth's brown clay, the granite outcroppings, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea. This ancient wisdom is connected to the forest herbs, the scents of the trees, and all living creatures. Rewilding involves shedding superficial layers, moving beyond mere sight, sound, or touch. It means embracing your dual nature as both human and spirit, allowing the wisdom of your soul and the universe to resonate within. You are evolving, adopting a new skin, and drawing ever closer to your true essence. Rewilding is about stepping away from the barren wasteland and its values, embracing change, doing things differently, and valuing your intuition, wisdom, and the earth.

Your rewilding journey shifts you from the purely human towards a deeper spiritual existence. It is a return to who you have always been but may have forgotten. You are in the crucible of transformation, transitioning from youth to middle age and into your hagitude years. Who will you become as a hag? How do you envision your life? What matters to you? What will you support or tolerate? What will you stand for? Where will you leave your legacy? These are the pivotal questions of the Hagitude years, with rewilding as the journey. You already hold the answers. Be still, listen to your inner wisdom. You are already becoming the woman you are meant to be.

Author's Note: I wish to credit Dr. Sharon Blackie. Her works, If Women Rose Rooted and Hagitude, have profoundly influenced my thoughts in this essay. I have drawn upon her terms, such as hagitude, wasteland, and the concept of skins, as I interpret them from her writings.