Daniel Thompson: Living in Wilderness vs Civilization

One of the main subjects of the class revolves around the idea of wilderness being a place of sacred communication. But our lives predominantly reside in very civilized, urban environments. This disconnects us from nature in that all our activities are done in school buildings, stores etc. None of these activities involve us taking in nature as it is. Living like this for so long seems damaging to any kind of religious connection. I never really understood why people said life in the cities was always too fast until taking several hiking trips in Oregon. The wilderness there brought life to almost a standstill, all the fast-paced comings and goings of the city were left behind. Everything seemed constant and unchanging in comparison to the urban areas. In the cities, buildings constantly got torn down and rebuilt, society changed, and the worries of the day were rarely the same. I still wonder: can the peaceful feeling of the wilderness be taken on mentally in an urban setting?