Climate change is more and more evident as a fact of life here on Earth, with each passing day - as is the fact that the natural systems of our planet, built up over hundreds of thousands of years, are dependent on a kind of interconnectedness that requires every being (even the small and easily dismissed) to play its part. Our role, as stewards and cultivators, engaged with and fully a part of the nurturing of these systems - has now become critical to their, and our own, survival. In other words, how well we make a place for, and encourage, busy bees and life-giving plants, polar bears and the majestic trees - can determine whether or not we survive... and whether or not we lose our Eden.
I have read many inspiring books over the last couple of years that touch on these topics, and have a list of books that I am planning to read and think about in the coming year... but in my own story, this understanding has translated into being active in my very urban area, as I see cities as playing a potentially huge role in offsetting not only some of these troubling trends ... but also changing the hearts and minds of people, by bringing the natural world closer to home NO MATTER WHERE you live.
Being in touch (literally!) with our sense - our intrinsically human sense - of place is also something that I have come to understand as very important (as well as deeply enjoyable). I am feeling an imperative that we must, as individuals - but also as a species - be true to our own nature as stewards, cultivators, gardeners. Right in our own backyards, wherever we may find them, and in whatever small and splendid way we can. As I have come to understand it in my own life, being in touch with the natural world is good for us (emotionally, physically, and spiritually), as well as good for the world. We were made to be a part of it, we are not separate. And there is great joy and reward in smelling flowers, eating food that we grew from seed - tending to the small miracles and nonverbal beings that we share this planet with. Indeed, if we have ears and hearts that are in tune with their voices... I believe they have much to teach us.
I have read many inspiring books over the last couple of years that touch on these topics, and have a list of books that I am planning to read and think about in the coming year... but in my own story, this understanding has translated into being active in my very urban area, as I see cities as playing a potentially huge role in offsetting not only some of these troubling trends ... but also changing the hearts and minds of people, by bringing the natural world closer to home NO MATTER WHERE you live.
Being in touch (literally!) with our sense - our intrinsically human sense - of place is also something that I have come to understand as very important (as well as deeply enjoyable). I am feeling an imperative that we must, as individuals - but also as a species - be true to our own nature as stewards, cultivators, gardeners. Right in our own backyards, wherever we may find them, and in whatever small and splendid way we can. As I have come to understand it in my own life, being in touch with the natural world is good for us (emotionally, physically, and spiritually), as well as good for the world. We were made to be a part of it, we are not separate. And there is great joy and reward in smelling flowers, eating food that we grew from seed - tending to the small miracles and nonverbal beings that we share this planet with. Indeed, if we have ears and hearts that are in tune with their voices... I believe they have much to teach us.
(For more developed and knowledgeable background on where I got these ideas, check out my recommended reading list page, coming soon :)
