The Growing Up To Do With Nature
/As natural disaster levels intensify, I can't help but connect what's going on in Nature to what's also going on with our collective understanding of each other. I don't think its a coincidence that we're seeing unprecedented scales of hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires, simultaneously to shifts in our understanding of societal structures such as power, patriarchy, and race. As we are waking up consciously to our social structures, Nature herself is also coming in with her message, unapologetically. Perhaps there's a correlation there? I'll leave that up to you to ponder.
So now that Mother Nature is saying,
"We're playing a different game now,
and its a grown up game. So listen deeply
and do differently,"...
what do we do now? How can we really start to THINK and DO in a way that we haven't before? I think it's time to play that grown up game of listening to her. So, what will it take?
INTUITION
Flex your intuition like your survival depends on it. The next time you have that gut feeling, trust it as your truth all the time. If you have a "bad feeling" about it, don't do it or hesitate for a healthy pause. And in that pause, think about the very first image or word that comes to your mind when something doesn't feel right and ask, "what was that image/word about in relation to that discomfort?" You can also scan your body for the location of the discomfort or tension and try to draw on what that body part represents. Ask yourself about that connection, maybe think creatively about the metaphor embedded in the body connection.
FEELING & SENSING
When we take the daily observations and attach an emotional feeling or intuitive sense to it, we're actually putting into action our listening. And this is what Nature wants since we don't "speak the same, literal language", our senses are there to help guide us towards knowing, or sometimes, survival. Even if survival means surviving that difficult conversation with your boss, being able to feel and sense your way through things allows you to be PRESENT in the moment and make more mature decisions about what to do. Challenge yourself to "feel" more of life.
GET BACK TO BASICS
This is exactly what we do on our healing hikes. We get back to the basic interaction with nature, which is so much more than just "spending more time outside". To get back to the BASIC way of moving around our world will only serve us well because the evidence is in the way our ancestors lived. They survived the world many thousands of years by living simply with the land; they had a deep relationship with her. But how do we do that in this modern world and still follow the ways in which they lived? One simple beginning step is to be outside in a different way with the land. And that's one of the first steps we take when we gather;
We give GRATITUDE and ask for PERMISSION
Do this every time you go out and I guarantee you, your relationship with Mother Nature will shift! You don't have to make a huge ceremony out of it. Just think about the words in your head and be honest and intentional about being grateful and humble about your presence.
If the tips above have ignited more curiosity, I encourage you to explore and practice outside! This is the essence of growing a deeper relationship with Nature. And answering the cries of Mother Nature doesn't only mean being more "sustainable" in our lifestyles. In addition to making greener and sustainable decisions, it also means having a deeper and more mature relationship with her and connecting with her in ways we're not used or ways that have been taken away. Reject the belief that we have no language to communicate with her and listen to the lessons of our ancestors that lived with the land.