Public Lands and The Forgotten Self: A Springtime Renewal
California is home to over a thousand protected public lands — vast spaces where we can lose ourselves and, paradoxically, find ourselves. These landscapes, ranging from jagged peaks to quiet redwood groves, from wild rivers to sun-scorched deserts, are not just places for recreation. They are places of transformation.
At Adventure Sports Journal, our mission has always been to inspire human-powered adventure in these wild places. For nearly 25 years, we’ve been hiking, climbing, paddling, riding, and running through California’s most beautiful and challenging terrain. And in doing so, we’ve discovered something profound: the outdoors is not just a playground, but a mirror. A proving ground. A place where we meet the parts of ourselves that the modern world too often buries.
This issue is dedicated to what we call the forgotten self — the part of us that predates the screen, the schedule, the paycheck. It’s the part that moves instinctively, breathes deeply, and feels at home in the rhythm of wind and water. It’s the self that knows hardship as a teacher and adventure as a path to clarity. 
In nature we reconnect with the great silence in a way that puts everything in its proper perspective. Nature is our forgotten self.
Zen Buddhism speaks of a truth beyond words — a way of knowing that is felt rather than spoken. Some find it in seated meditation. We find it in motion: carrying a pack up a mountain ridge, paddling downstream, gripping rock high above the valley floor. Adventure strips away the unnecessary and leaves us with something essential: the forgotten self.
To be sure, these are uncertain times. As America slips toward autocracy public lands are in danger. How do we protect them?
Before we ask “how” we must first understand “why.” Nature is the reason we MUST protect public lands. Nature is the forgotten self. Protecting nature is protecting ourselves.
Almost 2,000 years ago the Shaolin monastery was established in China to combine Buddhist style seated meditation with a fighting discipline we now call Kung Fu. More than a system of self-defense, Kung Fu was a form of moving meditation.
In ancient China, the Shaolin monks became the Jedi Knights of their time. They were a force for good when martial arts were needed to protect the weak and oppressed.
Today we must become the Shaolin monks of our time. That means adventure must become a practice of moving meditation. As long as we stay connected to our forgotten selves, the right actions will flow like a river in springtime.
If the forces of autocracy come to plunder our public lands, they will be met with resistance from modern Shaolin monks the world has never seen. Rooted in nonviolent direct action, these monks will summon the power of nature herself to protect our sacred lands. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but if it does we will be ready.
In these pages, you’ll meet others who are on the same journey — pushing limits, embracing discomfort, and finding themselves in California’s public lands. I hope their stories inspire you to step outside, seek adventure, and reconnect with the great mystery.
Here’s to a season of challenge, discovery, and the untamed beauty of the wild.
Thanks, and be safe. We hope you enjoy this issue and protect public lands!
— Matt Niswonger
matt@adventuresportsjournal.com
Read other articles by Matt Niswonger here.
