I don’t consider myself a huge fan of nature waiting in general, but I have come to appreciate writing that explores the intersection of landscape and culture, or as Robert Macfarlane self describes his own writing, the intersection of landscape and the human heart. Macfarlane has a skill to go beyond eloquently describing nature along with some of his own feelings and impressions. Instead, he seeks out people who epitomize a landscape and uses them as a guide to further explore and understand the land.  

Macfarlane tangentially discussed this during an interview with Krista Tippet on On Being, here referring to a fungi scientist he wrote about in Underland, “Merlin [yes, the real of the scientist] was one of those people who conjured open the underland for me and helped me see into it. I needed that. Many travelers into the underworld in myth and story have historically been accompanied by a guide… you need someone. In classical Greek that’s called the psychopomp. The accompanist. Merlin was one of those many who helped me see in the dark.”

I think that is a powerful idea and one that I hope to implement better in my own life. We all need guides, mentors and partners to be able to see and understand that which we can’t comprehend ourselves.