Written by Collette Streight former Interim Climate Action Manager at the Sustainability Office
For
most of human history, we lived deeply connected to the Earth and other people
out of necessity for survival. We had to be keenly aware of our surroundings in
order to have enough to eat and drink, to make medicines, to be sheltered, and
to avoid being preyed upon. We moved our bodies regularly, relied on our senses
and communities, and followed the rhythms of the sun and the seasons. Only in
the last several hundred years have we diverged dramatically from this way of
living. The way we interact with our world today is extremely different from
how we evolved to do so over the last 200,000 years.
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| Collette removing invasive French Broom |
This
sudden radical shift causes grave impacts on our health and well-being as well
as that of other species and all ecosystems on Earth. While it would be
impossible for us to go back to the "old" way of living, we can take
the wisdom and knowledge that has been passed down to us from traditional
cultures across the globe and apply it to our daily lives now. The Deep Nature
Connection core routines and practices are a way of doing just that. These
routines have been developed over decades of study, observation, research, and
practice, and mimic what we used to do naturally in order to survive in the
wild.
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| Bike Generator at Sustainability End of the Year Celebration |
The
single greatest key to becoming deeply nature-connected is to give your full
attention to what is happening in the wild world around you in any given
moment. By intentionally stretching yourself to listen to the farthest sound,
the quietest sound, the number of sounds, and the pattern of sounds in each
direction or by focusing on feeling the wind, sun, earth, and temperature while
being outside, you strengthen your natural capacity to be fully present and
aware. Over time, latent, but potent neural pathways will open in your brain that
enable you to experience life in a new electrified way. Quite naturally your
mind will quiet down, your body will relax, and you will feel like you are an
irreplaceable part of the amazing web of life.
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