Living Wild Project is like an old friend who has the habit of sharing a book, poem, piece of art, song, music, quote or suggestion that gives that little nudge to reconnect you with something deeply important in your life. That is your relationship with the wild both within you and in the physical world beyond.

Living Wild Project asks what does it mean to bring more ‘wildness’ into our modern domesticated lives? How do we honour, celebrate and reveal the wildness of nature and ourselves through experience and creativity?

I’m certainly not a wilderness expert, nature connection guru, or saintly being who has uncovered lost secrets to living a blissful nature connected life.

I am however, a simple and wonderfully flawed human and have spent much of my life grappling with the residue of childhood trauma and finding meaning and purpose in modern life. Again and again my relationship with the natural world has pulled me out of the mire of despair, self-loathing and runaway anxieties to return me to a calmer and more positive mindset. Over the years life’s challenges and stresses have regularly nudged me back to what Dr Zuess calls “the waiting place”. The place of being stuck and switching off because it is all too much. Through those times I’ve been blessed to have teachers, guides, mentors and healers who have pointed me towards wisdom, experience and creativity that got my sorry but off the couch and out into healing relationship with the wildness of nature. Serendipity has also played its part in putting the wisdom of great thinkers in front of me at just the time that I was ready to receive it. All the while nature continued to turn through its cycles as it has done for eons. Ever present with its invitation for me to come back into conscious relationship and realise my place as a humble piece in its unfolding greatness. 

So what I offer here is my ongoing exploration of the wisdom, creativity and experiences of others in living a rich life in connection with the wild within and around us. I also offer insights from my own personal healing experience in the hope that it be of service to you.

You can expect me to share poetry, stories, articles, books, photography, videos, blogs, songs, music, and visual art (from others as well as my own nature spawned creativity).  I’d love to hear from you about your experiences of connecting with the wild. For those living on or near Kaurna country in the vicinity of Tandanya (Adelaide) I also offer opportunities for small gatherings to share and explore different ways of connecting with the wild. 

Ngaitalya (respect)

Matt Cattanach