But that’s kind of the point. Let me explain (or just scroll down to my first article if you don’t care about the explanation!)…

Back in the olden days, I used to write books about big expeditions like cycling around the world or walking across India, and made films about crossing deserts or busking through Spain with no wallet. Then I changed tack, encouraging people to fit short, simple, affordable adventures in and around the margins of busy real lives. I called them microadventures. I’ve gone even smaller recently, spending a whole year searching for nature and wildness on my small local map.

As my adventures evolved, so did my motivations, reflected in my previous newsletters – one focused on overcoming obstacles and daring yourself to begin, another on making a living from creative passions. Now, it’s time to pivot again.

I love wild places and nature. I imagine you do, too. I’m appalled at the damage we are doing to the planet. You too, right?

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching about what tiny contribution I can make to turn things around. How can I add purpose to my desire to live adventurously?

How can I blend my love for the outdoors—running, cycling, camping, drinking coffee—with my alarm at nature’s decline, pollution, land misuse, the lack of access to the countryside, and our growing disconnection from nature and its impact on our physical and mental health?

How can we turn round these problems through solutions like rewilding, a right to roam responsibly, getting more people to spend more time in the outdoors, and making changes to diets and lifestyles?

I hope this newsletter sparks a two-way conversation. I’d really welcome your thoughts on the topics we explore and invite you to suggest different themes or perspectives you find important.

Why not start now? Hit reply and tell me what activities you enjoy in the great outdoors. What challenges do you face there? What worries you about the wild world? How can we connect adventure with purpose? I’m eager to hear from you and learn together.

And now, let us begin with a story about Northern Lights (or no Northern Lights, to be precise)…

👇👇👇👇👇

I woke up this morning to the discovery that I had cheerfully slept through one of the most spectacular Northern Lights events imaginable. 🥱

I am totally gutted to have missed the show. 😭 Social media is full of people like me who missed out, and others who are exultant and jubilant.

📸 Of course, it’s nice to see the beautifully curated and composed photographs of the Northern Lights in magnificent wild landscapes – mountains and tents.

🏠 But what’s really struck me this morning is the joy I get from all the “crappy” phone photographs taken from suburban gardens and over the rooftops of busy towns. This shows me that people everywhere genuinely love the wild world and can be filled with awe and wonder by nature.

🤯 But this doesn’t happen often enough.

❌ Most of us, most of the time, in most places, live our days totally disconnected from the wild universe beyond our windows and screens.

❌ Most of us, most of the time, live a lifestyle that’s really harmful to the natural wonders of the world. (I love that the Aurora are blissfully and mightily beyond the capacities of humans to screw up and will be blasting away beautifully for millions and billions of years once we’ve destroyed ourselves.)

❌ Most of us tolerate the diminution of our natural world every day and elect governments whose priority is being elected again, not fixing this most critical of issues for humanity and the planet.

🤔 So the conundrum I’m wrestling with today (along with a determination to stay awake all night tonight so that I don’t miss out on any possible Aurora party), is this:

❓ What we can do so that every person on social media who was awestruck and delighted by the wildness of the Northern Lights last night can be connected to nature and all its wonders much more often, and therefore become engaged to ensure we don’t screw it up?

🙏 Any suggestions will always be gratefully received.

See you next time!

Al

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