Coming Home Again

Coming home to the natural world is where many people long to be today.

Since people have entered the so-called civilized age, we have done all that we can to separate ourselves from nature. We wear clothes so we do not feel the weather. We wear thick shoes so we do not feel the earth. We build houses and buildings that keep us from feeling, seeing, and hearing nature. Throughout most of our lives we attempt to separate ourselves from nature. This separation causes a feeling of emptiness in our hearts and souls.

We must come full circle and return home again to nature. Most importantly we need to feel as if we belong in the natural world, not separate from it. In this belonging will come great healing and a sense of peace that can only come from a deep connection to the natural world.

Once the connection is made we begin to naturally learn how to communicate with the beings of nature, such as plants, animals, mountains, streams, clouds and more. We see more and feel more. Life becomes more meaningful and richer.

I have always believed that nature is the greatest healer of our hearts and our souls. In the healing and filling up of our hearts and souls we naturally become more peaceful and loving individuals. Peaceful and loving people naturally make a positive difference in the world that we live in. So life for all beings naturally gets better.

Know that it is your birthright to be connected to nature. Reclaim your birthright and make the connection. If you are already connected to nature, then deepen the connection. The wonderful thing about the natural world is the deeper you go the more you learn, and the more connected you feel. There is no end to how deep you can go in nature. Nature will just keep opening wider.

Here are some simple ideas to deepen your connection to the natural world:

• Spend as much time as you can in nature. Do not let weather stop you. In Santa Cruz County we are blessed with wonderful natural places. If you are feeling short on time, start in your backyard.
• To have plants and animals communicate with you, to see more things in nature, open your heart as wide as you can. Let yourself “fall in love” with the beings of nature. Open your heart and see what happens.
• Spend time in nature just sitting quietly or wandering around, without any planned destination or time limit. Let your inner vision guide you.
• Awaken your senses. Smell, feel and taste all that you can. Listen more deeply to sounds. Widen your vision by looking up, down and all around. Your inner vision will guide you.

Nature is all around us in this great world we live in, so get out and enjoy it, and reap the rewards. You will have a great life.