Ep 73 Finding Our Outdoor Personality

We often talk about nature as a pathway to the contemplative here on the podcast. But what if we don’t consider ourselves outdoorsy? As it turns out, how we engage the outdoors seems to involve both our personalities and the evolution of our personalities. Today we take some time to celebrate the many different and wonderful ways that each of us connects with nature, engaging in its wonder and beauty, and noticing the role nature plays in our great ecosystem of life. 

Additional Resources
#Evolution
#Curiosity
#Connection
#NaturePhotography 

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Transcript

 SUMMARY KEYWORDS
personality, nature, outdoors, creation, 

Dominic Kaiser  00:06
Welcome to The Contemplative Life: Three pastors, friends and spiritual companions help us explore spirituality through a contemplative lens. 

I'm Christina Roberts.
I'm Chris Roberts.
I'm Kristina Kaiser.  We're glad you joined us.

Christina Roberts  00:25

Hello, it's good to be with you. Today we are talking about finding our outdoor personality. And I bring this up today because we often talk about nature as a pathway to “the contemplative life”. It seems as though connecting to creation is something that humans share across time, across culture. It seems very important to us. And yet, what does one do if you do not consider yourself outdoorsy? I think sometimes that can be a hindrance for folks. And so I wonder if perhaps we all have an outdoor personality. And I'd like to explore that today on our podcast. And so just an example of how this might pan out.  Maybe you are someone with a hardcore outdoor personality and for you, the outdoors, equal adventure, and so you love being in the elements and you've got all the gear and it doesn't matter come wind come rain, I am here for you. Or perhaps you're the type of person that has an attention to detail. And your engagement with the outdoors is bird watching and taking photos of beautiful birds. So I'd love to talk today about our outdoor personality and see what we think. 

Chris Roberts  01:29

Well, I love that you bring up your outdoor personality. And the contemplative I think it's interesting to look at your outdoor personality, and how it evolves or changes over the years.  I was a very aggressive outdoor person when I was younger.  I retold a story of whenever I was probably 17 or 18, and in the deep woods of Oklahoma and swimming in a pond with water moccasins, and getting them and subduing creation.  Thinking about my childhood, walking around with BB guns and it was all about subjugating my environment, mastery over the wild. And I grew up hunting deer, all that stuff. But as I'm thinking about my outdoor personality as I’m older, it is more relaxed. And I would just assume, not go hunting, and discover the deer in the woods and have them look at me and me look at them, and have some sort of exchange, like we're connected, we're connected to this time, this space. And I don't necessarily have to subjugate. I can actually be a part of it. And I think that's something that I've been noticing about my outdoor personality as I get older, it's less about being wild and crazy and subjugating. And it's more about how I can become a part of this outdoor experience with creation with the trees with the, with the wildlife.  How can I notice more? I don't think as a kid, I could tell you the names of the bushes or anything like that. But as I get older, I have more of a curiosity about what kind of tree is that? What kind of plant is that? What kind of flowers or what kind of bird is that? I have a desire to know what it is that I'm surrounded by. Rather than, I don't care about it, but it's just there for me to subjugate. So, anyway, that's what I think of when I think about outdoor personality,

Kristina Kaiser  03:51

I can understand where you're coming from. I think as a young person, I don't think I subdued a single thing in nature as a child just to say, but I definitely did not care about looking at the flowers.  My grandparents would take us to these beautiful flower gardens, and I did not care. I wanted to go to Disney World and ride the rides. But I have little ones now who naturally just say, Look at that beautiful flower or the beautiful snow. So I do think that there is a certain type of person, but this evolution of self is a big deal. So when we moved, we inherited some birch trees.  I also would not have cared about trees and what they did either back in the day, but I have noticed over the last year and a half, that this tree serves so much purpose.  Not just how do I connect but how is everything connecting to itself and to each other. These birds come in the winter and there's these little pods that stay after the leaves drop off a birch tree. And the birds eat these things all winter long. This thing, it feeds life that sticks around. And there are specific birds that are attracted to that type of tree. It's different for the pine tree that's just over there. And so there's this whole ecosystem going on that I kind of inherited and I get to watch it and be a part of it. And I didn't care a lick about birdwatching, as a child, either. And now, I'm very interested in this red and that yellow and that blue. And not too long ago, you talked about the black one with the red and yellow wings, and just noticing all of these things that exist in what they're doing has become way more fun than I remember it being when I was younger. 

Christina Roberts  05:50

And it's interesting that I'm hearing words like curiosity, connectedness, this attention to detail, as you are both describing your evolution with your outdoor personality. And I think that there's probably natural ways that we gravitate towards the outdoors. You know, again, if maybe your personality is one with attention to detail, maybe you do like gardening, because there's order and there's rhythms and things like that. Or maybe maybe the opposite. Maybe if that's how you are in your day to day world, you don't want that and you want a little bit more of the wild and those terrains seem appealing to you. And so I think it's really interesting when we take a moment and you know, I'll often ask people,  If you had to pick a vacation spot, and it was the mountains or the oceans, or what kind of landscape? Hearing different people respond to that and often there's different answers that come. So kind of going a little bit further, what is it about that particular part of creation that really speaks to you and to really explore that together.

Chris Roberts  06:44

Interesting that you bring up order, as a way of connection. And I was accompanying someone who was on a little retreat, and one of the things that they brought up was their love for nature, but it had to be in a certain way.  You mentioned gardening, and it had to be rows and it had to be these lines and symmetry. And they were staying in a place that was not that.  It was a prairie with wildflowers and it was a shock to the system. One of the things that is coming up is how do I find beauty in something that is not my ordinary pathway? They found beauty in it, and the Divine was speaking to them all through their experience. But I really appreciate you bringing up the differences that we can name,  whether it be order, symmetry, or just wildness.

Kristina Kaiser  07:44

And it is funny, I think I've picked up gardening and we have friends that garden. And I think we do all gardens differently. Like we have one friend who 's very, very big on the straight rows, not big on cleanliness.  All the food just grows down in the dirt. And it just comes out how it comes out and it gets picked.  When I garden, it’s not quite a straight row, because that also reflects my personality.  Things are clean but getting it perfectly straight is apparently not my interest. So it'll be a little jagged, but it'll be clean. So when you pick it, you could almost eat it right away, you won't have to do too much scrubbing. A little bit of your personality goes with you into the experience. And so Christina, Oh, what do you enjoy? There is a contemplative sense.  If I'm sitting around a fire, and you can just watch fire or near an ocean and you can listen to the waves and watch them go. So there is kind of this rhythmic settling that I enjoy. The same tends to be true of picking the weeds, right? It's rhythmic, and you can just settle in. 

Christina Roberts  08:57

And again, as we're naming the basic elements, there's wind, earth, fire and water. And I think at certain times maybe the water: we do want the trickling brook. There's something serene and calm about the trickling brook. And also at times, maybe we do want the aggressive roar of the ocean waves and there's something about that part of water in that particular time in our lives that's really meaningful. I think even with introverts/ extroverts. I think some people prefer maybe a beach scene that is with other people and there's something about being in nature with others, that is just very comforting and it hits on a different bunch of different levels.  Where others might prefer a little bit more solitude with their nature. And so again, I think oftentimes again, as we're talking about nature as such a key part of connecting with the divine, with God, with ourselves. Sometimes there can be some shame if people really don't like bugs or don't like being hot and there's almost like this disconnect like what's wrong with me?  I should love nature. I should be worshiping the Divine when I go outside but I don't want to do that. I want to sit inside and not be outside. and unkind. And to name that that's okay. Maybe there's other ways in which you can engage with these different elements and creation inside the comfort of your own home, or different seasons of the year or whatnot. And so I think I wanted to sort of broaden that. Our personalities are our personalities. And it doesn't have to be one way to connect with God through creation.

Kristina Kaiser  10:18

It's helpful to say that. Just yesterday, I was doing a prayer time, but in the car and it's humid. And so I was feeling stifled and closed in. I do this same prayer meeting in the car all the time. Often the sun is shining, and it can feel a little bit like, Yes, right before I pick up the kids, I get this meaningful, calm space. But I felt kind of boxed in. And it was very much this humidity, which I do think goes down to personality. I often joke with people, but somehow, I got through four kids, and I never adopted the top knot messy hair.  I've always found a way to get it straight, and get things to a way of being just so, because it helps me breathe.  It calms me. And I actually think in those times that they're useful times and fighting your personality won't always get you somewhere. 

Chris Roberts  11:16

I appreciate what both of you guys are bringing up. I think the sense that we're trying to invoke this curiosity. We're talking about the outdoors, and we're trying to invite wonder and curiosity into anyone's life. And you know, the saying that there might be a different pathway.  You might enjoy driving your car and taking in the landscape, the outdoors through your vehicle, or you because you don't like the heat. I think there are many ways to experience the outdoors. And yeah, definitely don't want anyone to experience shame for their personality. Unless it's You of course, Kristina K. You will, you will love nature one day, and all of its all of its glory, you will take excursions into the deep woods one day, I know it.

Kristina Kaiser  12:16

Evolution, man evolution. 

Christina Roberts  12:18

And I think also, as we're sort of naming our natural personality bent, I think again, we're always wanting to learn and grow. And so sometimes there is an opportunity to experience nature from a different viewpoint. And  even photography, things that I mentioned, like going somewhere with your camera, and engaging nature with photography is much different than maybe sitting and journaling in nature or walking in nature. Taking a kayak down the lake as opposed to just taking in the scenes of the lake. And so I think even that made me notice what aspects of creation that I really love? And how can I deepen my awareness? How can I deepen that connection? How can I deepen that curiosity? And I think sometimes I even saw something and then I want to research Oh, what is it about this bush?  There's something beautiful about that bush? What is the bush called?  Maybe I'm going to research that, because that's my personality, and I love researching. And then the next time I see that bush, I'm going to feel a little bit more knowledgeable about that bush. And so also say, let's celebrate all the different personalities that we bring to nature and creation. There is not one size fits all. And hopefully we can find some freedom as the weather, at least in the northern hemisphere, is changing to beautiful spring and summer so that we can engage in our outdoor personalities. Well, thanks for a fun conversation.

Christina Roberts  13:39

This is the part of our podcast where we talk about what we are into this week. What are we into folks?

Kristina Kaiser  13:44

Well, you know, it's funny, we talk about being outdoors, but we had just planted our garden and something got on my legs that I was allergic to. I ended up getting out the hydrocortisone and the best lotion ever. So quite honestly, I'm into hydrocortisone and really good lotion, which relieved the itching on my legs. And just a funny side note, it turns out that a children's dose of Benadryl will put me right to sleep. So I apparently am also sensitive to Benadryl.

Chris Roberts  14:21

I got poison ivy six times one summer. Well I am not into itching, I am into speaking very slowly and enunciating. We have an exchange student from Japan who has only had three months of English. We are hosting him and we have to do some communication and so I am speaking very slowly and enunciating my words because we can tend to talk really fast at our house and slur words together, and sometimes my southern drawl comes out and I can blend words. So I'm into speaking really slowly, as a way of being hospitable to our exchange student.

Christina Roberts  15:15

Yes, I’m very grateful for Google Translate.. Oh, you who created that. 

Well, I am into berries and specifically strawberry shortcake. So we had our first Strawberry Shortcake of the season last night and it delights me. I love the fresh berries. We make homemade cream and the delightful little shortcake biscuits. I love all berries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, all the berries. I love them. It just makes me think of yummies. So I am very much into berries. 

Well, thank you so much for joining us. If you enjoy listening to the podcast, we invite you to drop us a line, maybe tell us where you're listening from. Or we would love to hear from you what topics or what questions are coming to mind so that we can address them on the podcast. Feel free to reach out at info@thecontemplative life.net. Until next time, make it a great week. Thanks for joining.