When I was a high school freshman, I went on a hike with a friend and his dad. He told me to bring headphones (back in the day when you'd lug around an actual CD player if you can believe it). I found it incredibly weird, the three of us walking in the woods silently, each listening to music instead of fully immersing ourselves in nature. I didn't hike with them anymore after that.

And yet today, I'm constantly plugged in to either podcasts or music.

I went for a walk yesterday without headphones for the first time in a long time. It was liberating. I listened to the birds chirping and noticed the different types of trees I passed by. My thoughts were recursive at first, my brain grasping at ways to stay busy. But eventually I was able to simply enjoy the walk for what it was: a stroll through nature.

How often do any of us do that anymore? This basic act was a staple in humanity's daily routine for hundreds of thousands of years, and yet today many of us never walk with nature. I live in the concrete jungle, like an increasing number of humans today. What if a big part of the solution to our problems was just to get out in nature more? No notifications, no human-made sound, just you (and maybe a companion) and the trail.

We didn't grow up in such crowded, concrete conditions as a species. Maybe the cure for our rising animosity is to ditch the CD player and just take the walk. We can still learn from Mother Earth.