About Nature Connection
Nature Connection as a term has entered the wider vernacular of our language in recent years. On the surface it may seem self-explanatory as to what it means. I like to be careful with words. They are powerful, powerful tools. Words, when followed to their exact expression and definition is what allows your cell phone to move from imagination to an actual object in your hand. It's all in the words; it is this, not that.
What is Nature Connection?
While saying "Nature Connection" is a quick way to create an image and understanding in our minds, it can, simply by the nature of words, inadvertently invalidate on'e's personal experience in nature outside of any model presented as to what it is or isn't. To say one need to get "nature connected" implies that one is starting from a place of not being connected and therefore begins with thoughts that they are "outside" of something and must now get "in" to it facing the challenge to bring something into their lives that ...is already there. Yes, it's true. You are already connected to nature! It's not just the forest, lakes and mountains. It's your cell phone, the car you drive, the projected movie on the screen, the jets we fly around the world in. Absolutely all of these things come directly from Mother Earth. Nothing fell out of space intact. We have used our creativity and intellect to take the raw resources of Earth and create amazing tools; but it's still Earth. When you hold your cell phone, you are holding Earth. When you lay down on your bed at night, you are laying on Earth. When you wrap yourself in clothes made from exotic materials, you are wrapping yourself in Earth. Just this simple awareness and momentary acknowledgement can begin to weave a new thread in yourself as being "nature-connected." After all, as much as any one of us would like to dive deep into connecting with nature using the practice of being out on the land as much as we can, the culture and lifestyle we've designed simply doesn't facilitate that practice. You can begin where you are. Even people that are living an outdoor-oriented life; many of them do not have a deeper awareness of their intimate connection with nature.
We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. - Native American proverb
It's a practice to begin and it begins first within you. It is important on this journey to be out in the source of natural landscapes, but ultimately it is your internal landscape that yearns to be a clear reflection of those natural places that can be so inspiring. It is an inside-out process, a state of mind. Start where you are!
