It's a Glorious Life Isn't It?: A Journey in the Woods-Elemental Story

It was a bad day. The sun was rising over the lake, but I didn't care. The northern trail was out of repair. I didn't care. I had no idea where the pack of brown bears had gone. I didn't care. The only thing I could seem to do was take walks, but no matter what route I took, it all looked the same. The sounds of the trees swaying in the wind used to make me glad to be alive, but all it did now was remind me how isolated I was. It reminded me of the idiot I was to raise my hand when the village chief said, "I need youth to volunteer to look after the lakeside lodge for the next two months." No one really cares whether I repaired the northern trail or tracked the brown bears. There was no one here to watch. Maybe I'm just being selfish; maybe I need a pat on the head for my efforts or something like that. Because nature really doesn't care that I'm here. The sun will still rise, the northern trail will be overgrown, and the bear will go wherever they damn well, please. I hate this. All of this. All I'm doing is burning up time, and frankly, I don't have a lot of it. I-. I slipped. I missed the branch; oh no, I'm falling off the cliff. Wait please-
 
I remember I was so excited for my first hunt. My Dad and I hiked deep into the woods. Deeper than I was ever allowed to go. He let me choose my spot to wait for the prey. I found a nice bush and covered my coat in leaves. As is customary, my Dad then left me, as my first kills should be made alone. I waited for my prey. For that elusive moment. I waited and waited and waited. I watched the shadows move across the forest duff and the sun begin to set. Then my Dad walked up to me and, as jolly as he could be, said,
"It's a glorious life Isn't it?". I was baffled. I had spent the entire day doing nothing, and my Dad was here joking with a sack of hunted meat.
"Why'd you make me do this, Dad!" I demanded. 
"It's a long time to be alone isn't it?" 
"Of course it was!"
"I'm proud you did it though."
"Why?"
"We're busy people and it makes some things easier to ignore. When you're eating, running an errand, or chatting with your friends, it's easy to ignore yourself."
"Yourself? What're you on about?"
"There are the parts of us we select to put in front of other people, and there are the parts of us lying beneath the surface. They're suppressed when we're interacting with others, but when we're alone, they rise to the surface to make us question ourselves. For good and ill. Many don't want to have that internal dialogue, they're too afraid of the answers."
 
When I came to, all I could stare at was the rock I landed on. I for sure thought that was the end, but there was no blood on the rock. I had no bruises on my body. I stared at this rock for who knows how long. I placed my hand on the rock and closed my eyes. I could feel ever so faintly the grass slowly growing on the northern trail, the crunching of leaves as a pack of brown bears passed. I felt connected to all the life around me. Mother Nature and I weren't ignoring each other, we were staring each other in the face.
 
This power was strange, for sure. But as I gazed at the river of stars in the beautiful night sky, feeling the cool evening breeze wash over me, I thought: "It's a glorious life isn't it?".