Why did deer cross Madalina’s path?

In October I went to Latvia to find out “Why Did Deer Cross the Road” or, in other words, to take part in the training course for youth workers by the same name, the brainchild of brilliant minds from the youth associations Radi Vidi Pats in Latvia and Human and Tree in Romania.

I left without great expectations, on the one hand because I didn’t know the trainers, Linda and Stas from Radi Vidi Pats and Alex from Human and Tree, on the other because I didn’t think people’s philosophies on the deer’s existential reasons for crossing the road would make much difference to deers worldwide.

The training course was promising an eco-centric approach of people in relation to their environment, to bring forth the issues of climate change and mental health.

Linda, Stas and Alex taught us about the five windows of knowing, the eight stages of development of the human being according to Bill Plotkin, they presented the issue of climate change through the game Climate Fresk. They held many interesting sessions, but what I liked best was that half the sessions took place outside, in an outstanding place in the middle of nature, surrounded by mushrooms and deers and old trees, where Alex invited us to listen to their stories and to their wisdom.

In one of the first sessions of nature wandering we gathered round in a circle and we were invited to identify five green beings, to listen with our eyes closed to four different sounds, to feel three different textures, to identify two different smells and to taste something around us.

I couldn’t see the power of this exercise until I reached Budapest, after a week of spending time in nature where I felt seen, heard and safe, at times even high, even though we took no mind altering substances all throughout the training. I thought and hoped this state of wellbeing would accompany me for many moons to follow, but as soon as I descended the train in Nyugati station I started feeling uneasy, drowsy and with my heart racing. I started to look around searching for five green beings, to pay attention to four different sounds around me, to identify the smells around. My anxiety started to diminish and I realised what a powerful tool I took home with me from the training.

Another workshop that made an impression was about moss, held by one of the participants who was studying biology. She divided us into four teams and she invited us to identify all the different types of moss on different patches of land. At first they all looked the same to me, a patch of green no different than the next, but looking closely I discovered that on our bit of land, no bigger than two square meters, were at least four different types of moss, which all differed from the ones the other teams found. Moreover, they all had different shapes, colours and tastes than the moss we later studied in the forest. A whole world at my feet by which I passed so many times without giving it any importance. I’ve been well too concerned with people and their relationships to pay attention to the tiny beings around me and what I could learn from them, the nets they built and how they all supported each other in the ecosystem.

During the training I encountered many ideas, concepts and practices that brought something to me, although I may have already forgotten them. It’s only natural when presented with so much information in such a short amount of time. Some stay present with me, others are doing their job in the subconscious.

I took home with me a certain respect and fascination towards the Latvian land, who greeted me with magic and offered me connection with aspects of myself I was unaware of. I feel an invitation to go back, to know it better.

I’m taking home the practice of automatic writing, for fifteen minutes on a timer, when I want to find out what thoughts wander through my mind.

I’m keeping close, in my chest pocket, the practice of knowing the surrounding environment through the five senses. 

Two months after the training, I find myself in a car with a woman who’s talking more than I can listen, overwhelmed with the quantity of information she’s giving me, with a growing unease as I feel more and more trapped in this social cage. She’s talking. This is just one of the sounds in my environment. What else can I hear? The howling wind as the car is racing through the air. The music on the radio. My dog breathing. What can I see around me? Trees covered in snow. Her face in the rear view mirror. My puppy in my lap. I choose where I bring my attention. And this is soothing. This is powerful.

I’ll end with the triumphant conclusion of one the participants during a session:

“The question is not why did deer cross the road, the question is why there is a road in the forest in the first place.”

The training course “Why Did Deer Cross The Road?” is financed by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union that in Latvia is administrated by The Agency for International Projects for Youth. The article reflects only the opinion of the author.