Wild Wander Practice for February ‘26: Bringing Your Questions to the Land
By Gretchen Martens
Retreat House Covenant Partner
Wild Spirituality Co-Organizer and Wild Guide
Author, Teacher, and Soul Doula
© 2026 Gretchen Martens
(Osterburg, PA, Winter Sunset)
Modern culture contributes to our sense of fragmentation or exile, a disconnection from the natural world. We have forgotten how myth and story support psychological well-being and spiritual healing. We have lost track of ancestral traditions that bring insight and healing—practices that help us reconnect mind, body, and spirit, integrating our Selves with the land. This detachment causes us to fear natural cycles of the seasons, like the cold darkness of winter, and the human lifecycle itself—the inevitable slowing down that comes with aging and elderhood, if we are fortunate enough for life to spare us from an early death. Reading Sharon Blackie’s book If Women Rose Rooted will help you discern these processes, although it is not necessary for this Wild Wander.
In this season of winter, sit outdoors at night. Build a fire or bundle up so that you are warm. Be safe and know your physical and emotional limitations. But challenge your Self to be in nature in the sheltering darkness. Bring one of these questions to the land, to winter, to darkness, to the ancestors—or invite a question of your own.
ü Where in my life do I feel “unrooted?” Can I discern why I feel ungrounded? What would it take for me to feel rooted?
ü What stories—family, cultural, religious—have shaped my sense of belonging—in family, in community, and with the land? Which stories nourish me? Which stories constrain me? How can I use this awareness to feel more connected to my Self, to others, and to the land?
ü How does the landscape where I live influence my inner life? Do I have a daily awareness of the land? Do I experience the natural world as backdrop for my life, or do I live in relationship with all of creation?
ü What archetypes of womanhood have shaped me—daughter, sister, wife or partner, mother, caregiver? Which roles feel imposed by others? Which feel authentic to my Self? What would it mean for me to claim my Self sovereignty in this season of life?
Close your eyes and sit quietly. Take several long, deep breaths. Feel the connection to the air through your breath. Sink into your body. Feel your feet and the connection with the land. Notice the sensation of cold and damp on your cheeks. Listen for the sounds of nighttime and darkness, the sounds of winter. Bring your question to the land and wait for the land to speak. This may take some time. If you find yourself thinking, simply return to your breath and find your feet, connected to the land.
Afterwards, journal about the experience. What was it like to sit in the cold and darkness of winter? What insights did the land gift you? How was this experience different from praying, meditating, or journaling?
