WHAT IS HUMANKINDS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NATURAL WORLD?

Too many put their faith in Science and Technology having the solutions to all of our problems.

That someone, somewhere will invent something that will deal with all the environmental problems that we are faced with today.

That we can just continue to live our lives as all is being taken care of.

I have talked in some of my other posts, about how some people believe that they are above nature, that it is there for them to use how they see fit.

There are others who go to the other extreme and believe that humans are just parasites on the planet and that everything is a lost cause. I have heard this argument too many times. To me this is an excuse that they give themselves so that they don't have to be pro active in looking after the environment. It's a cop out. Happily handing their responsibilities over to others, even over to the government. This same government that has shown us time and again that their world-view is one of dominance over nature.

All of this upsets me, I really don't understand, how they can think like this, especially when they could just go into nature and see all the magic and wonder around them. How they can turn their back on their home. Because that is what it is, our home, the whole planet is our home.

It feeds and nourishes us.

It heals us with it's many amazing plants and herbs.

It holds us and guides us.

It allows us to breathe, it gives us life.

But maybe that's it, they do not go into nature. Some people even fear nature. They fear what it represents, the wildness that is everywhere. Afraid of getting lost in the wild. They are afraid of what the outdoors bring, using toxic sprays to keep their houses clean, creating unnatural sterile environments that are destroying our immune systems. That are making us weaker, more susceptible to illness.

I have met children who have got upset because they got dirty. They see it as a bad thing, they get told off for having soil on their skin and clothes.That amazing organic matter that grows our food, that protects the earth, that is so vital to our well being. That is being seen as bad, making some children get upset and making some adults get angry. For me seeing my children dirty makes me happy, I know they have had lots of fun and also they are protected from the sun.

Source: giphy.com

There are teenagers that are more fearful of the outdoors, that what they are exposed to on Television.Scared of tiny insects, yet not affected by all the violence they seen on screens. Scared to be out in nature at night time. Fearful of what might be out there, sometimes seeing nature as depicted on screens, as the dark and scary woodland that holds all the danger. What is being fed to our children's minds. That the natural world is unpredictable, unsafe and that it is something to be fearful of.

There is a great documentary called "Project Wild Thing " that goes into more detail about that, and looks at coming up with ideas on how to get children back into nature. It is basically around the idea of selling nature back to kids. It is inspiring, but is that where we are, in a time where we need to seriously look at 'Selling Nature to our Kids' in order to get them more involved in the natural world.

How did it come to this?

There has been this obsession with controlling and taming nature. And anything that can't be tamed is to be feared. People are being told to be fearful of the one thing that connects us all. The one thing that prevents us from feeling so alone and isolated. Our natural environment. We have been living in a time of power over.. Of handing our power over to others, to authorities. Putting our, education, our health in to the hands of authorities. Allowing people to have power over nature, over one another.

We need to start to tap into our Power Within, this power that helps us reassert our place in the natural world.

We are not above it, we are certainly not parasites, we are part of it.

We have our role to play, it is our responsibility to live more sustainably. It is for our own benefit.

How many times must we be told that anything we do to the earth we are doing to ourselves, before we really listen?

Image Source for 1st Image:http://t.co/ttliD61FML ...