# The Beauty of Wandering Heedlessly <span style="font-size: 13px;"> <span style="color: black;">Planted:</span> <span style="color: gray;"> 13 October 2025</span> </span> I'm currently working on a blog post about a new routine I have (re-)introduced to my life, a routine that found its origins many years ago and which, sadly, met a sudden and abrupt end this year: taking walks in forests. This potentially underwhelming sounding revelation comes with an intense emotional connection. I had the privilege of sharing a life near one of the most beautiful places close to my city, surrounded by forests and mountains. It felt very special to, at times, basically live there and wake up to that scenery and immediate environment. The walks we took through the nearby forests, always accompanied by dogs, became one of my dearest activities. I had even planned to one day explore the area further, beyond our routine routes. All things lost. A recurring theme in my life. Two losses, in particular, held a close connection to nature, specifically to forests. In a way, I have lost three families in my lifetime already, with forests, for some reason, always in close proximity, sharing a piece of the puzzle. Walking alone through forests these days, especially earlier this year, felt almost suffocating. But as time passes, one gets used to the lack of oxygen. You start living with it. And by now, walking through forests alone is slowly turning into a core routine of my days. Just the other day, I went on a 15km solo walk, with the vast majority of that distance spent in a nearby forest I had never explored. I don't follow any pre-determined paths. I just walk. Heedlessly. Without a care in the world. And therein lies an incredibly powerful beauty. Being in an already calming and soothing environment, especially in the months of autumn, with its colors and atmosphere being even more intense than usual, it takes even more off one's mind and leaves more room for... nothing. Just roaming around, enjoying the effects of "doctor forest," as an elderly man I met and briefly chatted with during one of my walks said. If you live in close proximity to a forest: make use of it. The positive effect of forests on one's (mental) health is no chimera. #thoughts