Writing Prompt 29
“What To Do When Lost in the Woods”
(Or when you need a little direction)
I first came across this pamphlet on What To Do When Lost in the Woods from the Forest Service, printed in 1946, in an art exhibit by Melissa Borman. Ever since then, it’s popped up in my life at unexpected yet serendipitous times.
While it focuses on exactly what the title implies, there are other meanings that one can use to help shape mental health. In the postpartum haze that coincided with the early days of COVID-19 lockdowns, I used the opening line as a kind of mantra through the newborn sleep deprivation: a clear head will find itself.
I hope you find a few lines in here that can help you feel healthier, a refrain for when you need to clear the cobwebs and refocus your energy and intention.
A clear head will find itself. If everyone remembered this, there would be fewer reports of persons lost in the mountains and forests, according to United States Forest Service rangers.
Merely being out of sight of others in a strange forest gives many a man the creeps — a natural feeling but a dangerous one. Never yield to it. In the mountains the grip of panic is too often the grip of death.
