The Greentrovert Tribe

What is it about being outside?

What is it about being in nature?

Why do some of us feel the need to get out - bike, hike, garden, sit by a river, bird watch? Why do those same people feel filled, energized, invigorated after these activities? Because they are greentroverts. Never heard the term? We know. We made it up.

been doing some thinking. we came up with a word

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this is day 1 of a seven day challenge from Alex Tolman. challenge accepted! #ChallengeonNaturePhotography

Katherine and I are rangers with the National Park Service. We hike a lot. As we hiked we marveled at the sights and sounds; the bighorn sheep and the hermit wrens; the ghosting cougars moving around us. We talked about moments caught in our soul, moments of meaning and clarity; moments of invigorating spiritual and emotional beauty. We started searching for terms that described how we felt about the world and how it made us feel connected to the world itself.

One day we came across the term kensho - it's a Buddhist term - A moment of connectedness with the greater enlightenment. It's a window into your place in the web. A peek behind the curtain. We liked this term. A lot. But kensho wasn't enough. It was beautiful and descriptive. But it didn't describe how we were feeling.

Then it came to Katherine. Greentrovert.

We were both self-described introverts. We gained our energy by being alone. But it was more than that. How could we combine kensho and the idea of filling our emotional and spiritual batteries? We gained our energy when we were alone outside. Katherine hikes; I sit by a river in my hammock. We are greentroverts... and if you've read to the end of this blog... chances are, so are you. Welcome home. You've found your tribe.