Experiment - finding your way

“Let nature be your teacher” says William Wordsworth. So I did a walking tour and was curious what would happen, ready to learn. Would something happen at all? Doing a walking tour today is an experiment: we live in a different world than the Romantics did. Although the park is round the corner there is still the traffic that you can hear. And it is just a park, not the overwhelming nature in its full size as I experienced it when I was hiking in the Alps. There you are alone – except for your partner(s) – and you can hike without seeing anyone else for hours. This makes it easier to get a feeling for nature and the surrounding. But okay, the park is the closest place to go. And maybe this could be the first thing nature teaches me: no matter where you are, you can learn when you are ready for it. The second challenge: to enjoy the tour and not thinking about it as a waste of time, not thinking about the lot of work you have to do, not thinking about anything else. Just enjoying the moment, thinking of where I am. Right now. Nothing else matters, nothing else should matter.
In the park. First of all: confusion. What to do, where to go? So I just started walking, trying not to think too much. My gaze wandered from one place to another one. I am still impressed by the oaks. So big, so old, so strong. Despite, or because of it, they are beautiful in their own way. I know that there are different types of oaks but I do not know the difference. Does it matter?
Then I saw the new planted trees. They were small. Hard to imagine that they will become as big as the other oaks. Was it Wordsworth again who said that nature is a perfect circle in itself? If this is the case, I wonder why humans (have to) act by planting new trees? Seeing this I had to think about something at home. In Germany, I live close to a wood. A terrible storm destroyed a lot of it; the hills looked bare, hurt and vulnerable. Some places were not afforested again to see what nature would do. One year later, these places were full of foxgloves. You saw a sea of flowers in every tonality of purple. It was a wonderful view. This picture in my mind led me to think about Blake: you have to destroy in order to create something new. And so did nature.
The best way to get in contact with nature is to touch it. Feel the bark of a tree, smell the different odors. I got the impression that seeing, watching is not enough. I need my other senses as well. I climbed a tree. This was another challenge. Do I have the heart to climb this way? Am I brave enough to climb at all? By experiencing nature, I experience myself. This feels good!
Close to a bench is a flag in-ground. It says:

"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16).

I was on a walking tour so I tried to pay special attention to a lot of things. Would I have seen the flag otherwise? “Ask where the good way is” – I do it every day, every day I try to find my way. And so, nature reminds me of it - although the flag was man-made. But I was ready to learn, so I experienced. Is it this what nature teaches us?