To experience nature is to become part of it. Or get a little closer to nature and not be so removed from it. There are real therapeutic effects of going tent camping. I feel it at least and judging from the number of other campers I see they are it to. It’s not just a diversion for me or I wouldn’t be putting these words here now.
I’m not saying that the only time you’re really close to nature is when you are in the woods. Lots of people are close to nature and never leave home. But you seek nature because you are part of it. So many things in modern society tend to pull us away from nature.
For example you can go to the grocery store and buy some radishes and eat them. Or you can compost some kitchen scraps. Mix the compost by hand with dirt to make a good rich soil. Plant the seeds in a sunny location. Give them water and watch them grow. Then eat it when it’s ready. In either case your digestive system got a radish. A rational person knows which way makes more sense.
But the radish you grew brought you much closer to nature. When you are tent camping you are the radish. You are aware of the sunshine. You are subjected to rain, wind, cold, warmth, clouds, all of what nature is. I get this sense of amazement when I’m camping. There is so much to experience in nature and being outdoors gives you a reminder that it is there all the time.