In the simplest sense of physical fitness, human-powered physical activity, especially in the outdoors, is essential to living well. We have to move and use our bodies, and far more so than most of us are in the habit of doing. One of the key reasons is that “exercise” is terribly boring. I grew up in the city, and I could never understand how people went jogging on the hard concrete streets of San Francisco—they always looked like they were in pain. It wasn’t until I started running trails that I saw for myself how we are all born to run.
One of the best ways to build a strong intuitive ability is to spend time outside, being active in nature. The ways that we move our bodies in nature inform our mental processes. Our bodies respond intuitively to the unpredictable shapes of the natural world, our mind sees this happening and develops similar intuitive thought processes. I know this from my own personal experience; my mind saw my body running down the trail and thought: “I can do that too!”
The shapes and patterns of the natural world are the same shapes and patterns that make up our lives. We can find inspiration and guidance in the form of the natural world—literally, just in how it’s shaped!—and from by learning how to navigate the natural world, we learn how to better steer our own lives. Nature is the first and the ultimate inspiration, and the more time we spend in nature, the more we learn about how to live well.
