Forget the stereotype of roughing it in a mosquito-filled rustic cabin or tent. Elevate your expectations.
Cities overstimulate. Nature recalibrates. That anxious buzz in your body? It’s not you — it’s the pace of the city.
One weekend outdoors and you start to feel like yourself again. Creative. Calm. Clear.
Today’s camping can mean cozy cabins, glamping tents with real beds, warm showers, portable stoves, and even Wi-Fi if needed. It’s not about deprivation — it’s about simplification.
Adventurers of all types can now choose their comfort level without sacrificing the magic of nature. All you will sacrifice are the usual urban crowding, disturbances, anonymous glances, dirty air, and concrete jungle of commerce and distraction.
Simplifying leaves much more room for the unexpected, and a richer daily fabric where you can be more of yourself in harmony with nature and other people, or simply in solitude.
It creates time that feels like it stretches
When was the last time that you spent a day without looking at the clock, or constantly responding to the implied demands of digital notifications, punctuating every moment like the clash of a cymbal?
The rush of modern life and work are realities we must endure, but from time to time, we deserve to change gears and experience an afternoon by a lake and walking through the woods where time seems to go on and on, just for our benefit.
We watch the movement of the sun and clouds, instead of the passing of cars and calendar reminders every half hour.
Instead of nervous tension about the next task we must complete, we are free to let go and allow that mealtime conversation to stretch, and for our sleep to stretch a little longer without an alarm tearing us from a peaceful dream.
Unhurried moments have a superior quality and make deeper memories, for the idle mind to heal and rejuvenate.
Taking time to fill our camera reel with wondrous sights and small details we don’t have the usual time to notice, also changes our insights on life and on our place in the world.
We get the gift of time that deepens, rather than slips away. Reclaiming this time is an investment in our subconscious and conscious appreciation of ourselves, and those we spend it around.
Sometimes our friends and families, those ‘closest to us’, are the ones we have the least time to devote to. Camping is the investment that turns the tables on the constant life demands for our scarce time.
It’s a portal to intergenerational wisdom
Elders and extended family members can pass down skills and valuable stories from other times and other places.
Kids can also teach valuable new ways of seeing things to adults, given the different world they live in today. Nature becomes a bridge between ages. In an environment that unites us, because it has not changed much, we find a unity and common ground often missing from the technologies and geographical distances that divide generations.
Coming together in-person allows us to really listen to the perspectives of others, passing on the oral tradition that many cultures rely on to transition wisdom and knowledge among generations.
A folk song from another culture or era played on a guitar, or a ghost story to entertain and thrill, likewise give us a reminder of how human connection through stories was the way humanity grew to where it is today, before the digital revolution.
It takes us back in time, but more importantly shows us where we are today, when we share our experiences among family members, young and old, and between the cultures we encounter when interacting with travelers from other places.
It’s the safest place to be wild together, untethered
There was a time when neighbourhoods were safe to explore, and where kids could roam without supervision or fear.
They were free to be independent, run, fall, and be free without needing a leash, except for a dinner-time curfew to return home.
When camping, parents can let go of the constant “no” and the worry of keeping an eye on their kids every second in public. Camping allows safe, meaningful freedom — a chance to be wild in the best way.
This allows an unprecedented freedom for parents too! Being able to hang out and socialize with other adults they meet in this different kind of ‘village’, enjoying sport or leisure, cooking outside of the usual four walls, and off the clock.
Togetherness and independence are combined to create a different family and social vibe, one that all can appreciate in unique ways.
We might even bring the insights of quality time spent together, and the freedom camping shows us, to improve our relationships and time spent back home.
Letting go and reconnecting in nature is not just a new level of comfort with all needed amenities to enjoy, but it is a new way to transport ourselves to an uncommon experience of society that we might have thought was lost forever, when the world sped up and became unsafe in many ways.
Revisiting the ease of camping is not nostalgia, but a reminder of what is possible for the future of families and neighbourly relationships.
You deserve the luxury of being present
Being hesitant of camping, and the idea of sacrifice of modern conveniences is an outdated stereotype. Today’s amenities and infrastructure in 5-star locales offer the best of all worlds, yet an opportunity not possible at home, in a hotel, or in the city.
Taking the challenge to expand our horizons and face the unknown is the best step to discover that we do thrive in a different environment, and that change is really good.
We can always return home, but we can’t afford to miss the hidden gems of experience that we have the courage to explore outside our comfort zones, one camping expedition at a time, from place to place, and with all those great people we will encounter on our paths in life.
And some bugs? They’re part of the background — like the sound of traffic or fluorescent lights in the office, but organic. With the right protections, you’ll barely notice them.
You’ll be too busy noticing how good it feels to breathe like yourself again.