The American Camino Chapter 6 Pt. ii (Hailey Hill)

    "Here we are," "I exist," and "we exist." Here we are, together, in a world that is alive. In an environmental or spiritual context, “I exist” isn’t a declaration of ego—it’s a recognition of being a part of something larger. “We exist” takes the spiritual insight a step further. It recognizes that humans are part of a web of relationships that includes animals, plants, water, and earth itself. This movement—from presence, to self-understanding, to kinship—is one reason wilderness has long been a site of spiritual revelation. The environment isn’t only a backdrop to spiritual experience; it creates it by rearranging how we perceive ourselves.

    Wilderness invites us into presence, grounding us in a world that is alive and larger than our own concerns. In that presence, we recognize ourselves—not as isolated individuals, but as beings shaped by and dependent on the places we inhabit. And from that recognition comes a deeper truth: our existence is intertwined with the existence of everything around us. To say “we exist” is to acknowledge a shared life, a shared responsibility, and a shared future.

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