31 Questions for The Wild
03.01.24 | 29205
Hello, March!
Welcome back to The Zip Code Project. Each month, I offer daily questions for reflection at the top of each post, which can be used as journal prompts or conversation topics to dig more deeply into the theme of the month. Enjoy!
31 Questions for The Wild
The dictionary definition of “wilderness” states, “an uncultivated, uninhabited, and inhospitable region.” Is this how you understand the meaning of the term? What does / doesn’t resonate?
Do you see the wild as a positive place?
Would you characterize yourself as wild? Have you been more wild in some seasons of life than others?
Would you like to be more wild (however you define that term)?
Do you feel restrained in any aspects of your life? What limitations (externally or internally created) do you feel?
Do you naturally like having boundaries and limitations, or do these feel like an imposition?
Where are restrictions or boundaries helpful, and where are they not?
Thinking about the wilderness as unrestrained, would you like to be more wild?
Contrary to the dictionary definition of wilderness, the thesaurus claims these terms as synonyms: “free, lush, native, natural.” How do these terms change the way you think about the wild?
What did your role models growing up think about the wild? Did that influence your perspective?
Who in your life is in touch with their “wild side”? What qualities do you see that make you think so?
What is your relationship with this person like? Are you inspired, intrigued, intimidated by them?
What aspects of this person’s story have made them more comfortable being more free-spirited?
Think about your mentors or leaders. How do they approach limitations or restrictions?
Who supports you in letting go of external or internal roadblocks? Who encourages you to set boundaries?
Who are you most connected to? How do boundaries play a role in your relationship?
Where do you feel most free? What aspects of this place contribute to that feeling of freedom?
Consider the different seasons of your life. When you have been more or less wild, where have you been? What external qualities of your location and/or community shaped that experience?
Consider the time you have spent in nature. Have you ever been in a place that was truly untouched by human hands, that had not been cultivated or shaped to human expectations? How did you feel?
How have your experiences in wild places influenced your sense of self?
Would you like to spend more time in nature? Why or why not?
If the wilderness is an “uncultivated” place, how do you understand your relationship to it? Does the lack of cultivation feel like a positive characteristic, or a negative one? Why?
Do you ever feel nervous about spending time outside? Why?
When have you intentionally let go of inhibitions or restrictions? What possibilities did this create?
What have you done in your life that felt wild (either at the time or in retrospect)?
Do you have any specific practices that make you feel more in touch with your body?
Have you ever felt particularly in tune with your surroundings? What were you doing at that time?
Who in your life has a positive relationship with wilderness and boundaries? How might you emulate them?
What places in your life inspire you to let go of restrictions or boundaries that feel imposing, rather than helpful? How might you lean into the feeling of these places?
What practices in your life help you cultivate a sense of the wild within your daily experience? How might you reinvest in them?
Looking back at the month, in what ways do the people, places, and practices in your life relate to your sense of the wild? In what ways would you like to change your relationship with restrictions or boundaries?