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Happy New Year. 
It's 2023. 

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And we are glad to be back 
today. 

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Feels especially celebratory as 
it marks our 30th episode and we

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are so thankful to all our 
listeners and Newfound tree 

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Community. 
It has been our pleasure 

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creating this podcast and we 
look forward to many more 

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episodes. 
To come when we began the 

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podcast. 
We never could have dreamed of 

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the places that are connections 
to trees would take us. 

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And to the people, we would meet
along the way. 

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In today's episode, we'll talk 
with Swedish American Author, 

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Linda, okasan mcgurk, whose book
The open-air Life, discover the 

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Nordic art of free Lutz league 
and embrace nature everyday, 

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shows us how to embody a free 
Loops leave Life by getting 

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outside and embracing Outdoors, 
no matter the time of year or 

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temperature, especially in these
darker and colder. 

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January days. 
When it may be more appealing to

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curl up inside Linda writes 
about the many ways being 

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outside strengthens our mental 
and physical health, builds 

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community, and nurtures a 
necessary relationship with 

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nature the passion for the 
open-air life, that she not only

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advocates for, but also lives 
herself is hiring and I have a 

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new appreciation and drive to 
connect even deeper to Nature 

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around me as the famous 
Scandinavian. 

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Saying goes, there's no such 
thing as, bad weather, only bad 

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clothing. 
My name is Dori Robinson and 

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this is tree speech a podcast 
where we strive to listen to the

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forest through the trees. 
This week's episode was written 

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and recorded in Massachusetts on
the native lands of the wabanaki

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Confederacy. 
Penacook the massachusett and 

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Pawtucket people and in New York
on the lands of the Lenape 

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tribes as well as the sapne 
tribe of Sweden, tree speech is 

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co-written and produced by 
Jonathan Zellner with a light 

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theater Guild The Norwegian 
concept free Lutz leave means 

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open-air life or free are life 
or fresh air life. 

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The word was first published by 
the famous playwright Henrik 

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Ibsen and a poem in 1859, which 
reads in the lonely Cedar 

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Corner. 
My abundant catch, I take 

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there's a heart and a table and 
free Lutz leave for my thoughts.

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Free Lutz leave far predates 
this poem and Has been in the 

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Norwegian Society for over 5,000
years, the Norwegian government 

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defines this as embracing 
nature, and enjoying the 

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outdoors, as a way of life, a 
possibility of recreation 

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Rejuvenation and restoring 
balance, among other things, a 

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way of returning to our true 
home, where humans and nature 

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intersect and the value that is 
created in those meetings. 

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Linda okasan McGurk's previous 
book is a major centered 

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parenting Memoir. 
There's no such thing as bad 

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weather. 
A Scandinavian mom's secret for 

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raising healthy resilient and 
confident kids from free leads. 

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Leave to he gay and she and her 
books have been featured in 

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several leading. 
American magazines newspapers 

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and online sites, including the 
Wall Street Journal, the New 

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York Times Psychology today. 
Orion magazine tree hugger and 

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many more Linda lives in Sweden,
but had spent 15 years in 

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Indiana where she sorely missed 
the relationship with land. 

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She had previously had in Sweden
with forests streams and 

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mountains, quite nearby. 
That's part of what is so 

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wonderful about. 
Free leads, leave it can happen 

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in one's backyard. 
All connection with nature is 

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valuable. 
This is the heart of Linda's 

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work to continue to find ways. 
Both big and small. 

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To be within our natural 
environments jumping in puddles,

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digging, in dirt climbing, to 
the tops of mountains, 

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conducting business meetings, 
while on a walk or sleeping 

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outside under the stars, are all
possible ways to lead to an 

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open-air of Life. 
Speaking with Linda was an 

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absolute pleasure. 
So many of my own personal 

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values such as being outside 
communing with trees finding 

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ways. 
Both big and small to learn 

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about nature. 
Are what she speaks about and 

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lives every day. 
I hope you find our conversation

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as enlightening as I did. 
Let's listen. 

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Hello Linda. 
How are you? 

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I'm great. 
Thank you for having me on. 

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Congratulations on this recent 
release of your new book, the 

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open-air life, we have loved 
reading it and we've been really

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inspired by it. 
So thank you for taking the time

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to speak with us about it today.
Thank you so much. 

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I and that was the purpose of 
the book really to inspire. 

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So it makes my heart happy to 
hear that it's having the 

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intended results. 
Very much so. 

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And it's not a concept that is 
very prevalent in such a 

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thoughtful put together way. 
So could you describe for our 

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listeners? 
What the open-air life means to 

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you? 
Yeah, of course, open-air life. 

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So that's, that's sort of my 
translation, loose loose 

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translation of the, the Swedish 
word, three lifts, leave, and 

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that roughly translates to open 
air life and it ruined, Goes 

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back to to the 1850s. 
When people felt like, you know,

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it industrialization and 
urbanization, we're sort of 

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starting to take their toll on 
people and they were sort of 

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seeking out the countryside and 
trying to reconnect with the 

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lifestyle that they used to 
have. 

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And so that's sort of very 
briefly the history of it, since

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then, it's been just a lifestyle
here in the Nordic countries 

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that I grew up with I think in 
The US were more used to 

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thinking of outdoor life in 
terms of outdoor recreation. 

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It's more sort of focused on 
activities and a lot of times, 

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maybe more sort of exhilarating 
or adrenaline-inducing 

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activities or hiking big month 
mountains or hunting fishing 

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writing ATVs and things like 
that. 

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But feel if Steve is a little 
different in that, it can 

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certainly involve hiking and The
climbing big mountains, but it 

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really emphasizes sort of nearby
nature and connecting with 

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nature in everyday life and 
whatever way you can. 

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And of course this is going to 
depend like how you do it. 

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It's going to depend on where 
you live and what kind of access

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you have to Green spaces. 
So to me it's something that I, 

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like I said, I've grown up with 
it, I live in rural Sweden now. 

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So to me it's about being out 
there every day I have I have my

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routines and rituals and nature.
Like I go outside every day, I 

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have a walk that I that I go on 
and to do it every day, 

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regardless of the weather, which
is another sort of main idea 

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behind fetus. 
Leave is to to really try and 

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find something to love about 
every season and every type of 

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weather. 
So that's the short short 

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version. 
Wonderful answer. 

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Thank you. 
You incorporate. 

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Prelude sleeve into your life 
and into Your children's lives. 

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Can you tell us a bit more about
that incorporation and that 

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integration? 
Yeah, a lot of it is really 

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about finding ways of being 
active outside in your everyday 

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life, like for example, walking 
places or riding your bike 

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places instead of taking your 
car and granted I live in a 

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rural area so that's not always 
practical here. 

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But if I go to the city for 
example 2 Try and, you know, 

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maybe Park not, not drive like 
all the way to the door, but to 

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park a little ways away. 
And also do do some walking or 

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taking public transit because 
that way you also get that sort 

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of everyday movement in, I think
it's important to sort of 

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rekindle that relationship with 
walking. 

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It's about embracing whatever 
you have nearby. 

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So it's just about, yeah, 
embracing what you have? 

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Embracing what you have in all 
four seasons. 

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Yes. 
And actually you enjoy doing 

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like my kids are older now. 
So when they were little of 

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course, then you know it's easy 
to to just go outside and play 

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but now they're 11 and 14. 
So it's a little bit of a bit 

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more about. 
They sometimes want more 

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challenges or to them is more 
important to have a goal or a 

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destination, but we we 
compromise and we usually we 

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have a good time. 
Feel if Steve is Of the main 

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actually main ways that we spend
quality time together on the, 

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especially on the weekends, and 
it's a great even for a 

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teenagers, it's something that 
you can do all life which you 

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know I really want to emphasize 
that to you. 

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Start them young and it's 
something, you know unlike 

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boards for example which a lot 
of kids play when they're 

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younger. 
Maybe through high school, 

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possibly through college if you 
really good. 

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But after that, you know, let's 
face it. 

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A lot of people don't perceive 
Sue that those boards anymore, 

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but with the loose sleeve is 
something that you do build the 

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foundation in the in the early 
years and then it's something 

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you can do. 
If you're in good health, you 

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can do it in your golden years 
as well, for sure. 

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And it will help you stay in 
good health as well. 

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Very, very much so. 
I mean, that was one of the 

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things that really stuck out to 
us about the book is that you 

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have a chapter on how the 
outdoor is, play a part in 

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bringing joy and health through 
all seasons of life and I do 

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That there's a great emphasis on
younger, rather than older. 

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Yes. 
And we don't talk about that a 

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lot. 
Yeah. 

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And unfortunately, it was a lot 
of nursing homes and and 

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institutions like that. 
It is always hard to find the 

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time and staff to provide 
residents with experiences, like

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that. 
But in in Sweden, sealer, Steve 

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is such a strong part of the 
tradition here that they really 

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tried to to provide The elderly 
with walks or being able to be 

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outside and do some gardening, 
you're seeing like greenhouses 

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and and they're out there 
grilling and they have all kinds

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of kinds of fun outdoor 
activities for the elderly. 

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And if it's a good it's just a 
good idea all around. 

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It makes them happy but it also 
Studies have actually shown that

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you know, by bringing in more. 
Yeah like gardening and time for

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the elderly to be. 
Outside. 

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They need less medication and 
their symptoms of stress and 

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anxiety go down. 
So it's really a win-win. 

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I think for everybody involved, 
do you remember when he first 

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became acquainted with free 
Loops leave as as a concept or 

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was it always there? 
My grandparents took me to 

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Swedish Lapland which is the 
mountainous area, north of the 

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Arctic Circle. 
And so I think that's going like

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going back. 
Back through memories. 

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That's probably the trip that 
has sort of meant the most to 

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me. 
But I don't know that it's 

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because of the memories that I 
have from that trip because I 

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was only three years old at the 
time. 

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But there were so many. 
There were pictures that we sort

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of became, you know. 
We kept revisiting this trip, my

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grandparents and I and I was 
very close to my grandparents 

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and I think it's because we know
that not only spending time in 

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nature, When you spend it with, 
when you spend the time with 

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people, that you're close to 
that, you love that really 

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amplifies the experience and 
that makes you even more 

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attached to the place. 
What an extraordinary thing that

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it's so multi-layer, that it's 
the memories of your 

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grandparents, it's the memories 
of the land, it's the memories 

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that come again and again 
through the photos. 

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That's, that's sort of how life 
is, is you experience something 

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once and then again and again, 
yes, motional. 

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A mentally. 
Yeah and eventually your 

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memories and the pictures and it
all kind of Blends together and 

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you don't know exactly what 
what's memories and what's you 

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know what came from the slide 
shows in your grandparents 

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basement, but it doesn't really 
matter because the what matters 

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is that? 
You know, I have this place in 

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my heart I just love it. 
It like every time I come up 

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there and I see the same scenery
that I had in those that my 

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grandparents had in their 
pictures, like it gives me 

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goosebumps every time and gives 
me goosebumps just talking About

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it. 
It's like it's that profound to 

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me and it's giving me Goose 
Bumps just hearing about it. 

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I mean those are the stories 
that really shape us. 

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Those are the stories of our 
souls and yes. 

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Become who we are. 
Yeah. 

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So it comes naturally to me to 
try and create those those 

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stories for my kids. 
That's been the main driving 

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Factor behind me trying to make 
sure that my kids to have this 

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sort of deeper. 
Ship with nature because that's 

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really what through the state is
about really feeling that nature

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is home. 
It's not just an abstraction in 

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a textbook, it's a place the 
place where we came from and 

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it's a place where, where we at 
least should feel at home and 

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the more you practice view to 
see the more comfortable, you 

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will be because a lot of people 
today, unfortunately, as we've 

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been become alienated from 
nature over, Percent of us in 

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the developed world at least 
live in cities today, and we 

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spend so much time indoors and 
we're plugged into all our 

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devices, and there's just so 
much to gain from from sort of 

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digging into that evolutionary 
past of being out there. 

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That's something you emphasized 
in the book is, is that it's a 

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practice which is such an 
important point. 

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I mean, we, you know, the fact 
that we do Exotic, Sighs. 

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You know, national parks and we 
think of Nature and these things

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as being far away and hard to 
touch. 

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And we forget that there is so 
much locally and there's so much

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we can do locally and ways that 
we can be involved locally. 

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One story from your book that 
really hit me was the person who

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wanted to sleep outside once a 
week, every week, every week for

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a year and because of work he 
ended up doing. 

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So not necessarily far away but 
fine. 

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Being the Beauty and the open 
era life in within the city, 

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whether it was backyards or 
playground or yeah. 

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And I think that we think it is 
far away always and we miss, 

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what's beautiful right here? 
Yeah, I mean I've had some 

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amazing campus when my girls 
without leaving our Deck with 

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even you know, slept on our 
outdoor furniture sometimes and 

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just because there's been a 
starry night. 

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There was a night and just now 
in September, when my 14 year 

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old looked up at the night sky, 
we were sitting in our living 

254
00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,600
room and she said, mom, have you
seen this guy tonight? 

255
00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:09,700
It's so beautiful. 
Just look out there. 

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00:16:09,700 --> 00:16:14,500
Can we can we sleep outside? 
And at first, I just didn't feel

257
00:16:14,500 --> 00:16:17,300
like it at all. 
Is like, you know, comfortably 

258
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Seated on the couch, you know, 
watching a show or whatever. 

259
00:16:21,700 --> 00:16:25,700
Not in the mood at all. 
But then I took a look at the of

260
00:16:25,700 --> 00:16:29,800
the At the sky at night sky too.
And I was like, you know, this 

261
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is really something it was so 
pretty. 

262
00:16:32,500 --> 00:16:36,800
It was just so many stars out 
and I just felt like, well, you 

263
00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,100
know, my 14 year old just asked 
me to sleep outside. 

264
00:16:40,100 --> 00:16:44,400
I can't like I can't deny her 
then, so I just pulled myself 

265
00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:48,800
together and we ended up 
sleeping on the, on our couches 

266
00:16:49,100 --> 00:16:52,800
on the deck that night and it 
was beautiful just to be able to

267
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go to sleep and have that sort 
of as your backdrop drop that 

268
00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:02,200
alone, just it's moving and it's
all inspiring for sure. 

269
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Anytime, you look at the night 
sky, I think. 

270
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And I'm, I'm not, I'm not a 
typically like a religious 

271
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person, but I look at the night 
sky. 

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And I'm like, that's, it's so it
makes me very, very humble and 

273
00:17:16,300 --> 00:17:21,500
understanding that, I do not 
understand a lot of life's 

274
00:17:21,500 --> 00:17:25,099
mysteries. 
And so that's that's what my so 

275
00:17:25,099 --> 00:17:26,200
to me. 
Three, listen. 

276
00:17:26,300 --> 00:17:32,500
Is very much spiritual to, it's 
a way that I, even though, I 

277
00:17:32,508 --> 00:17:36,400
don't have like an affiliation 
with a church per se. 

278
00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:41,500
I like being out in nature 
because it, it makes me feel 

279
00:17:41,500 --> 00:17:44,800
part of. 
I mean, this sounds super cliche

280
00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,200
but it's so true makes me feel 
part of something greater than 

281
00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,300
myself. 
You know, something that's been 

282
00:17:50,300 --> 00:17:55,300
there for eons before me and 
will still be there long after 

283
00:17:55,300 --> 00:17:57,800
I'm gone. 
And That's there's something. 

284
00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:02,700
There's something to that, that,
that makes you humble very much.

285
00:18:02,700 --> 00:18:08,900
So I think I mean nature is so 
full of Oz for us, it's very 

286
00:18:08,900 --> 00:18:11,300
much trees that are all 
inspiring. 

287
00:18:11,300 --> 00:18:15,900
That's that's what we go to, and
think of and treat you mentioned

288
00:18:15,900 --> 00:18:19,100
that trees have a special 
standing with the open-air life.

289
00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:22,300
Can you tell us about caring 
trees? 

290
00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:26,100
It's such a wonderful that goes 
back to the old. 

291
00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:32,900
Sort of agrarian society when 
trees were so special, they they

292
00:18:32,900 --> 00:18:39,100
were seen as sort of the like a 
gathering place for a lot of the

293
00:18:39,300 --> 00:18:43,000
sort of supernatural creatures 
that people believed in back 

294
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,600
then. 
And so in the countryside, 

295
00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,700
people would often they would 
try to build their houses like 

296
00:18:49,700 --> 00:18:57,100
near a large tree because they 
you know, they felt Like that 

297
00:18:57,100 --> 00:19:01,500
way, they would be protected and
if there wasn't a tree on the 

298
00:19:01,500 --> 00:19:04,400
land to begin with, they would 
usually plant a tree. 

299
00:19:04,800 --> 00:19:08,300
The idea being that if you took 
care of this tree and nurse, 

300
00:19:08,300 --> 00:19:13,900
stood and kept all the 
supernatural creatures happy. 

301
00:19:13,900 --> 00:19:17,200
Then they would look after you 
and and the farm animals as 

302
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:20,400
well. 
So I have some ideas in my book 

303
00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:24,400
for how you can benefit from the
power of trees and one of them 

304
00:19:24,400 --> 00:19:28,200
is tree-hugging It was actually 
my sister who introduced me to 

305
00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:30,300
tree-hugging it. 
And at first, I thought it was 

306
00:19:30,300 --> 00:19:31,800
kind of. 
Yeah, it was. 

307
00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,600
It was I thought it was kind of 
silly at first but then I 

308
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,700
started doing it. 
And I was like, I like this, 

309
00:19:37,700 --> 00:19:41,300
it's calming and soothing, and 
actually, I've noticed two, I 

310
00:19:41,300 --> 00:19:44,000
had an incident. 
When my youngest daughter when 

311
00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:48,100
she was little, I think she was 
about five P. 

312
00:19:48,100 --> 00:19:51,000
She often threw Tantrums when 
she was little. 

313
00:19:51,500 --> 00:19:55,000
I noticed that one point that 
trees seemed to calm her down. 

314
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,100
And at one point, you know, She 
had a tantrum and we went 

315
00:19:58,100 --> 00:20:01,200
outside because it does seem 
like going outside. 

316
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:03,100
Would diffuse the Tantrums as 
well? 

317
00:20:03,100 --> 00:20:05,900
And I walked away for a few 
minutes because I had to cool 

318
00:20:05,900 --> 00:20:07,600
off and I felt like she had to 
cool off. 

319
00:20:07,600 --> 00:20:12,600
And then I came back, I found 
her sitting at the at the roots 

320
00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:16,000
of this. 
I think it was a birch tree and 

321
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,100
she had clasped her arms. 
She had wrapped wrapped her arms

322
00:20:19,100 --> 00:20:22,600
around this tree and she was 
just kind of leaning into it. 

323
00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:26,700
And then I asked her what she 
was doing and she said, That I 

324
00:20:26,700 --> 00:20:28,400
found a friend while you were 
gone. 

325
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:33,200
I was like, okay, well tell me 
more and she told me that she 

326
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:37,800
felt safe around the tree and, 
yeah, like, I end up writing a 

327
00:20:37,808 --> 00:20:41,300
whole blog post about it because
I was, it was a revelation to me

328
00:20:41,300 --> 00:20:44,800
that that children like even 
young children, could actually 

329
00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:50,000
feel very calm DIN and soothed 
by by a tree. 

330
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,700
And after that, we actually 
named the tree her calm down 

331
00:20:53,700 --> 00:20:57,400
tree and, you know, we ended up 
going to it several times when 

332
00:20:57,400 --> 00:20:59,600
she was upset. 
So I think trees can definitely 

333
00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:05,400
have can definitely help us in a
lot of ways of just, for mental 

334
00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:08,600
mental, wellness, and I know it 
in the forest bathing tradition,

335
00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:12,600
that being around trees, can 
actually, I mean that it even 

336
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:18,500
benefits, our physical health, I
definitely feel that it does and

337
00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:20,900
I've always been a tree hugger 
in that story about your 

338
00:21:20,900 --> 00:21:24,100
daughter is just beautiful 
because it's innately in us. 

339
00:21:24,100 --> 00:21:27,800
We find it doesn't surprise. 
I need that a child would say, 

340
00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:31,800
oh wow, this friend who is 
rooted in the ground? 

341
00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:33,900
Will give me some more right 
now. 

342
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,600
What a beautiful thing. 
Another natural element that you

343
00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:41,200
know, you were mentioning the 
night sky before and it makes me

344
00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:45,000
think of this concept you 
mentioned in the book Moon gotta

345
00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,500
moan got the idea. 
One gotta which is particularly 

346
00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:51,300
beautiful. 
There's all these words that we 

347
00:21:51,300 --> 00:21:53,800
do not have an English 
equivalent for. 

348
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,500
Can you describe the word? 
Somos, en gotha, it literally 

349
00:21:58,500 --> 00:22:04,000
translates to Moon straights and
it's just a word that describes 

350
00:22:04,100 --> 00:22:10,000
this reflection on water from 
typically, at full moon on a 

351
00:22:10,008 --> 00:22:14,200
clear night to go down to a lake
on a, on a full moon. 

352
00:22:14,300 --> 00:22:18,300
You'll see this Shimmer kind of 
at like this streak long streak 

353
00:22:18,300 --> 00:22:21,800
across the water and that's what
Mom gotha is. 

354
00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:27,400
And here it's just one of those 
beautiful Beautiful words to 

355
00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,300
describe something that we like 
to observe in nature and we have

356
00:22:31,300 --> 00:22:34,700
a lot of words like that. 
I have a long list of words that

357
00:22:34,700 --> 00:22:38,100
we use for different types of 
locks as well. 

358
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:43,000
And I think a country's 
language, I think it's a 

359
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:46,200
reflection a lot of times of the
culture. 

360
00:22:46,700 --> 00:22:50,600
So I'm not surprised that we 
have all these words to describe

361
00:22:50,600 --> 00:22:53,800
different natural phenomena in 
in Sweden. 

362
00:22:53,800 --> 00:22:59,700
And and another one is I 
singing, which is another thing 

363
00:22:59,700 --> 00:23:03,900
that it's a sound. 
The sound that ice makes when it

364
00:23:04,100 --> 00:23:08,300
contracts and expands. 
And it's the most beautiful 

365
00:23:08,300 --> 00:23:13,700
harrowing sound I've ever heard.
And in the wintertime, one of my

366
00:23:13,700 --> 00:23:16,100
favorite things to do is 
actually just to go down to the 

367
00:23:16,100 --> 00:23:19,800
lake here and sit there for a 
while and just listen to the ice

368
00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:23,300
saying. 
It's very, it's very powerful. 

369
00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:25,800
It's quite quite amazing, it's 
just another one. 

370
00:23:25,900 --> 00:23:32,400
Those simple ways of connecting 
with nature that that I do on a 

371
00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,900
regular basis. 
There's something about having a

372
00:23:36,900 --> 00:23:40,100
word for it. 
That is extraordinarily powerful

373
00:23:40,100 --> 00:23:44,000
because as soon as you said that
about the ice, I knew 

374
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:47,000
immediately, I had a visceral 
reaction. 

375
00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,900
Yeah. 
How wonderful to have a word for

376
00:23:49,900 --> 00:23:53,000
it so that you can make space 
for it in your world. 

377
00:23:53,500 --> 00:23:57,100
Absolutely. 
It's So important today. 

378
00:23:57,100 --> 00:24:00,700
I mean I feel like a lot of us 
feel like life is a little out 

379
00:24:00,700 --> 00:24:03,700
of whack today. 
And American society is very 

380
00:24:03,700 --> 00:24:07,400
competitive. 
A lot of people complain that 

381
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:11,200
there's not enough balance 
between work life and family 

382
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:16,200
life, for example, and there's a
lot of pressure and that 

383
00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:18,300
pressure trickles down to our 
children. 

384
00:24:18,300 --> 00:24:22,000
I think, I think feel asleep 
could really do a lot of good 

385
00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:27,700
here in that, it really. 
It allows us to just be I mean I

386
00:24:27,700 --> 00:24:32,000
feel it myself every day when I 
when I go outside that's when I 

387
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:36,200
can really just drop everything 
that has to do with work and I 

388
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:40,700
can just allow myself to just be
in the present moment because 

389
00:24:40,700 --> 00:24:44,300
that's that's what that's the 
only thing that nature asks of 

390
00:24:44,300 --> 00:24:49,400
me is that I'm actually present 
I think and I think for kids 

391
00:24:49,400 --> 00:24:52,700
today a lot of them I mean 
there's so much pressure even on

392
00:24:52,700 --> 00:24:56,600
preschoolers to reach. 
Certain academic milestones and 

393
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:02,600
there's this emphasis on getting
getting everything done like 

394
00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:06,800
earlier and earlier for some 
reason instead of just letting 

395
00:25:06,800 --> 00:25:11,400
them be and I think Felix need 
can sort of help bring that back

396
00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:15,600
into into balance. 
Well we have barely scratched 

397
00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:19,500
the surface of the content in 
this book which is filled with 

398
00:25:19,500 --> 00:25:24,800
such interesting and informative
stories and recipes and And is 

399
00:25:25,100 --> 00:25:29,300
and truly serves as a how-to 
guide with everything that you 

400
00:25:29,308 --> 00:25:32,700
would need to know, to practice 
any level of free leads sleeve, 

401
00:25:32,700 --> 00:25:37,300
it's definitely pleasing to look
at to hold to live through and 

402
00:25:37,300 --> 00:25:41,900
to read cover to cover Linda. 
Do you set New Year's intentions

403
00:25:41,900 --> 00:25:44,100
or have goals for this coming 
year? 

404
00:25:44,500 --> 00:25:50,700
Yeah, I usually do either like a
challenge or some intention for 

405
00:25:50,700 --> 00:25:54,200
the new year and so usually I 
try to do something. 

406
00:25:54,300 --> 00:25:59,600
Thing that is sort of meaningful
and also something along the 

407
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:04,200
lines of making our lives a 
little more sustainable for this

408
00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:09,300
year, we're going to try and do 
the 1000 hours outside challenge

409
00:26:09,300 --> 00:26:12,000
my daughters. 
And I I felt like we needed 

410
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:16,400
maybe a little more motivation 
or that they needed maybe a 

411
00:26:16,408 --> 00:26:20,200
little more motivation. 
And so I told them about this 

412
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:22,500
Challenge and they actually 
jumped on it. 

413
00:26:22,500 --> 00:26:25,600
So we're going to do that. 
Exciting. 

414
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,100
Well, good luck with that. 
Thank you Linda. 

415
00:26:29,100 --> 00:26:32,300
It's been a real pleasure to 
speak with you today. 

416
00:26:32,300 --> 00:26:36,000
You are an inspiration and 
you're a leader who so 

417
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:40,900
thoughtfully and gently is able 
to guide us from very young to 

418
00:26:40,900 --> 00:26:44,600
older and age to live, our best 
possible lives. 

419
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,900
And to remind us, what is 
important spending time in the 

420
00:26:47,900 --> 00:26:49,700
outdoors? 
No matter the season, our 

421
00:26:49,700 --> 00:26:52,800
weather and sharing that 
experience with the ones, you 

422
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:57,700
love just like this. 1,000 
hours, challenge ahead of you. 

423
00:26:57,700 --> 00:27:01,700
So thank you for your work and 
for being with us today. 

424
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,000
Thank you. 
I was my pleasure. 

425
00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,200
What a joy it was to speak with 
Linda. 

426
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:21,900
Ultimately she teaches us that 
free loot sleeve is about 

427
00:27:21,900 --> 00:27:24,700
slowing down in nature. 
No. 

428
00:27:24,700 --> 00:27:27,800
Fancy equipment or distant 
travel is required. 

429
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,300
No, specialized clothing and 
certainly no, motorized 

430
00:27:31,300 --> 00:27:36,000
vehicles, simply finding ways to
be outside at any age. 

431
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,100
This is part of what I found 
Most Fascinating about the book 

432
00:27:40,100 --> 00:27:44,600
and my talk with Linda, despite 
my love of trees and going King,

433
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:49,300
I Am by no means an outdoor 
expert, but actually free loot 

434
00:27:49,300 --> 00:27:53,100
sleeve is inherently. 
Not competitive, it's not 

435
00:27:53,100 --> 00:27:57,200
supposed to be elite or filled 
with pressure, or even done with

436
00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,800
speed. 
It's for everyone at every 

437
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:04,200
stage, the images, in my head of
extremely athletic Trail 

438
00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:08,600
Runners, slowly melts away. 
As I read the book allowing me 

439
00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:13,100
to savor my own relationship 
with nature just as it is. 

440
00:28:13,500 --> 00:28:17,600
And just as As I am, it's 
important to note that for many 

441
00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:22,100
people going outside everyday. 
Simply is impossible for many 

442
00:28:22,100 --> 00:28:25,800
reasons, including disabilities 
or even safety. 

443
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:30,300
I want to recognize my privilege
that I am able to do so, and 

444
00:28:30,300 --> 00:28:34,100
that I have access to beautiful 
spaces and feeling safe. 

445
00:28:34,100 --> 00:28:37,500
When I am there. 
This time of year is always 

446
00:28:37,500 --> 00:28:41,500
filled with resolutions and 
intentions, and it feels like we

447
00:28:41,500 --> 00:28:46,600
are at a clean slate, a noob. 
Beginning sometimes these 

448
00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:50,800
intentions or resolutions can 
seem harsh and strict. 

449
00:28:51,100 --> 00:28:53,100
But what if they were more 
gentle? 

450
00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,100
And Linda's book. 
She speaks about how free Lutz 

451
00:28:58,100 --> 00:29:01,900
leave can exist in different 
forms in any situation. 

452
00:29:01,900 --> 00:29:06,000
She defines basic principles of 
open air life that are very 

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00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:11,500
simple being one with nature 
using your body, keeping it 

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00:29:11,500 --> 00:29:16,100
simple. 
I think that one really speaks 

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00:29:16,100 --> 00:29:19,900
to me. 
What if this year for a clean 

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00:29:19,900 --> 00:29:22,300
slate? 
We didn't have to work quite so 

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00:29:22,300 --> 00:29:27,000
hard or Be so harsh. 
What if it was, just that simple

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00:29:27,100 --> 00:29:29,300
to take in a little bit of 
nature every day. 

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00:29:30,100 --> 00:29:33,600
I think that sounds doable for 
me for 2023. 

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00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:35,900
What do you think? 
Trees features? 

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00:29:36,600 --> 00:29:45,400
How about for you? 
Thank you for joining tree 

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00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:47,300
speech. 
Today, we'll have more 

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00:29:47,300 --> 00:29:51,200
information about Linda okasan 
mcgurk, and her work in our 

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00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:55,000
show, notes to learn more about 
our podcast and episodes. 

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00:29:55,300 --> 00:29:59,200
Please visit tree speech, 
podcast.com we're thrilled to be

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00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,300
able to offer interviews, 
creative insights and stories 

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00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:05,800
about the natural world we live 
in and the trees who guide our 

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00:30:05,800 --> 00:30:08,400
way. 
Please also consider supporting 

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00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,800
us through our patreon. 
Every contribution supports our 

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00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:13,900
production and will be giving 
gifts of Grace. 

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00:30:14,100 --> 00:30:17,800
Attitude, including an 
invitation to Treehouse our new 

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00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,000
virtual community for patrons of
all levels. 

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00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:25,000
Please also consider passing the
word to tree-loving, folks, and 

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00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:27,400
rate, and review us on Apple 
podcasts. 

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00:30:27,800 --> 00:30:29,500
Every kind word helps.