When an eagle takes flight nearby, everything stops. Conversations pause. A moment of unplanned reverence arises.
We look up and recognize the majesty and beauty of creation.
Close encounters with the natural world can be transformational, and worth creating opportunities for. Without them, we lose touch with the truth of being human – both our fragility and our resilience.
Inherently fulfilling, spending time outside surrounded by nature gifts us so much more than fresh air in our lungs and a snapshot of the sunset.
Witnessing nature up close affects us deeply. We develop a relationship with those we share our time with.
In that relating, there are stories woven, even if unspoken.
We see how birds survive the cold and lack in winter – learning we can survive and even benefit from doing with less. We notice how trees shed their branches at their feet, making their own compost.
We observe the garden going dormant, sending its energy down into the soil only to return from the depths in verdant abundance come spring, and we contemplate our own wintery descents that prepare us to rise stronger following rest.
There is an encyclopedia of wisdom available to the observant.
We are wild creatures. Only recently did we start building concrete barriers between ourselves, the trees, the wind and even the earth under our toes.
In this separation lies a forgetting. The chasm of disconnection from the natural world cannot remain vacant, however. We fill it with approximations – trinkets and distractions from the real thing, and are left wanting.
Lost is the knowing that life is a web of interconnectivity.
Without plankton, there are no whales. Take away bees and we lose much of the food on our plate.
Nothing is too small to matter. There is no us and them-ing. We thrive or we fall.
Biodiversity holds the key to our capacity to adapt as a species. Ecologists know this better than most.
The minutiae of life is the foundation of life. Bacteria and fungi hold our earth in sacred balance under our feet.
Connecting with the natural world is one of the most reliable ways of becoming an earth advocate. Your inner eco warrior is emboldened by each wonder you witness, from the winged to the slimy.
Our hearts beat with the rhythm of the planet. Getting sensitive to its rhythm through time spent amidst natural landscapes tunes us into her wellness while supporting our own.
Let’s Talk Trash is contracted by qathet Regional District to deliver its waste reduction education program. For more information, email [email protected], call 604.485.2260 (extension 308), or go to LetsTalkTrash.ca.
