Your freedom is closer than you think.

A couple of weeks ago, I got to kayak on the Klamath River, which was freed last summer when four dams were removed from it in the biggest U.S. dam removal project in history.

Paddling on this newly-liberated river got me thinking about my own freedom.

I used to live for moments when I felt truly free. But I seemed to only experience them when I removed myself from my regular life and went on some wild adventure — to the backcountry, to a foreign land, to an altered state.

But what I’ve discovered through deep nature connection is that freedom is much closer than we think.

It takes root, grows, and thrives in the small, brave choices we make in our everyday lives to stretch gently past our comfort zones and come back to aliveness.

For me this has looked like:

• Going barefoot outside in places where I normally wear shoes
• Wandering off-trail, letting curiosity guide me instead of sticking to the path
• Dipping my toes (or diving headfirst!) into creeks, lakes, or the ocean when it would be more convenient to stay dry and warm
• Discovering which wild berries are edible and gathering them for a snack
• Wearing clothes I don’t mind getting dirty so I can enjoy full-body contact with Mama Earth

When I stray from this kind of stretching, my world gets smaller, my mind gets tighter, and I feel bound up and oppressed from the inside out.

But every time I recommit, even in tiny ways, I remember who I am. And suddenly, I feel free again.

So if you’ve felt disconnected, dulled, or a little too domesticated lately, this is your invitation. Not to fix yourself, but to remember your wild and true nature.

To gently stretch your edges, to say yes to your aliveness, to follow your curiosity. Because that’s where your freedom lives.

And it’s closer than you think.