A Balanced Approach to Wellness!

Posts tagged ‘nature’

Connecting with nature

Post 95 nature-1

  • Is going to the mall satisfying for the soul? No, not even to people who love shopping (even if they think so).
  • Is playing game apps or watching viral videos satisfying for the soul? No, not even if the viral video is about a wonderful person.
  • Is sitting at a restaurant satisfying for the soul? It can be, if you are sitting with people who are enriching, but the atmosphere at any restaurant is not enriching for the soul.

Connecting with nature is satisfying for the soul. It just is, because we were designed to be part of nature. Along the way, we lost the importance of our place in nature and we need to get it back. In general, our lives have become very cut off from nature, especially for those who live in large cities or spend too much time in cars or public transportation. There are people who work at staying connected, but they are not the majority.

Post 95-nature 3

How to reconnect with nature

  • Plan regular hikes and actually go on the hikes. The hikes don’t have to be long, but they should be in green spaces.
  • Visit parks and nature areas.
  • Visit humane zoos and petting zoos. Contact with animals is an important part of connecting with nature.
  • Shop at farmers’ markets and find farms that have fruit picking. And go pick fruit!
  • Add more plants and potted flowers inside your home.
  • Visit places with water: beaches, lakes, rivers, and springs.
  • Visit botanical gardens.

Try being more connected to nature and see how entertaining it can be. And at the same time, your soul with be nourished and you will become more balanced.

Post 95-nature 2

Category:

Flora and fauna

Tagged with:

“The main thing to remember is that each life has potential,…

…and each potential bring opportunity for elevation.”

Leaves--Journey

In The Gift for Intuitive, Dedicated Comfort, the journey of life is explored.

“The path one chooses is actually many paths; each path leading into a wider and longer path. The ability to try is the key to creating a valuable life. Valuable here means creatively challenged, joyful, balanced in terms of self vs. community, and accepting of the vagrancies of nature and life events. So many tributaries feed into the river that forms and sculpts our lives. Each chance meeting; each struggle to learn something new, to hone existing skills, to push beyond; each encounter with nature; each encounter with nature’s creatures; each exchange—verbal, physical, or with divine understanding; each decision, non-decision, decision result. All these parts combine, repel, stack, and group to shape, mold, and create the people that we are.”

“…each encounter with nature, each encounter with nature’s creatures…”  Many of us tend to trivialize the importance of our encounters with the environment and with other living creatures.  “The connection to flora and fauna significantly 1) broadens and heightens understanding of cycles and fluctuations; 2) develops appreciative and inquisitive capabilities; and 3) causes people to examine and work with vegetation that aid human life and animals that enhance human existence.” from Oneself-Living.

The photo above is my attempt at nature art. As the wind blew my collected leaves around, I thought about the need to relax expectations (I had collected 1000 leaves). The leaves were interesting to work with: varying colors, sizes, and shapes; easy to work with until the wind whipped them up; and versatile in their ability to form lines, corners, and curves.

The more we encounter nature, the more we understand ourselves.

These books are available on amazon.com: Book1 Cover-Oneself-Living

Category:

Flora and fauna

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Fake nature, no soulful beauty

Post 96-fake nature

Displays of nature that are not living displays of nature (like artificial flowering plants) are neither good nor bad, but they do affect.

A living plant inside a building adds oxygen to the air, adds beauty, and increases the stabilizing positive energy in the building. It draws the eye and, unknowingly to people, uplifts the soul. A fake plant, no matter its similarity to a living one, can only add beauty, and nothing else. The most important work of a living plant is not only not done, but is lost. The uplifting effects of living plants are important and should not be underestimated.

Eating food in a restaurant that is decorated with fake plants fails to feed the soul. Working in an office decorated with fake plants does not energize the workers. Living in a house that contains only fake plants and no living plants is a house bereft of the soulful energy provided by plants. A smattering of fake plants is acceptable as long as there are live plants as well.

A smattering is the amount to use when decorating with fake plants and flowers.

(This post is repeated from February 4, 2014.)

Category:

Flora and fauna

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Experiencing Nature’s Outline

Gift of nature

 

 “Living with compassion and with understanding lends color to life, adds substance and texture to being…‘Helping those who need help!’…Compassionately approaching, the preferred approach, relieves tension, balances health…‘Spending time with loved ones! Playing with babies! Teaching children in the customs and traditions of one’s forebears!’…pitching in, helping out, lifting up…‘Watching animals! Caring for pets! Preventing abuse of animals! ‘” – from “Oneself-Living” and “Pond a Connected Existence”

The outline of nature is the framework for connected living. The outline of nature has headings and symmetry and subdivisions. Rules and extensions bound the experience of living within the outline. Definitions and relationships fit within Nature’s outline, deviating when dramatic conferral occurs. The entirety of creatures with vegetation is a cyclical, rhythmic composition.

Connected living requires seeing the participation of all the parts. Living within the seasons and within the boundaries of the lightness and the darkness bring the body into alignment with melodious cycling of life and death. Recognizing that part of all is me brings overwhelming satisfaction and calm.

There are magical moments that occur when Nature’s outline is recognized and received!

Category:

Connections

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Loveliness for the Eyes

David statue-trees

The statue of David.
Standing in its grandeur,
So tall and arresting,
Its beauty is breathtaking.
To see it
Requires entrance fee
to the museum,
Plus a visit to Florence.

The tree across the street.
Standing in its grandeur,
So tall and arresting,
Its beauty is breathtaking.
To see it
Requires opening
one’s eyes
To the masterpiece at home.

This poem is from the recently published book of poetry named Unfolding.

Other poems in Unfolding:

http://amzn.com/1508828229

Category:

Poetry

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Clarifications about the basic tests for maintaining health, Test #1

 

 

treble_staff.extended

I was asked for more information about the test questions that were presented in the previous post.  I am reposting with more information.

Test #1: Sensitivity to environmental concerns

The state of the environment directly affects the health of people. People who live in a highly polluted and vegetation-free environment are subjected to damage that can cause physical ailments, but also can cause damage to the soul. People who live in a vegetation-rich area, but are careless in their relationship to their environment, can suffer from damage to their physical and soulful selves too.

Disregard for plant life, water sources, and conditions for animal rearing undermines the grounding of the world and damages physical and intellectual health. Knowingly contributing to abuse of fauna and flora damages people—body and soul.

Here are the questions for the basic test:

  1. Recycle? Yes/No/Partially
  2. Use water judiciously? Yes/No/Sometimes
  3. Use chemical agents for cleaning or insect infestations? Yes/No/Only for insect infestations/Only for cleaning
  4. Support conservation efforts and interested in well-being of trees and plants? Yes/No
    (explanation: being aware of and actively participating in maintenance of local and distant environments. For example, contributing money to and/or volunteering with organizations that maintain and protect the environment [local arboretums, global or national environmental organizations, picking up trash in a littered part of the city, local environmental advocacy groups])
  5. Care about animal welfare? Yes, including the animals that I eat/Yes, I care about my pet/Yes, except for animals who disturb my garden/No/Sometimes
    (explanation: animal welfare is broad and can be overwhelming. It includes awareness about conditions at places that raise animals for food [industrial meat, egg, and dairy industries], raise animals for our enjoyment [puppy mills, fur farms], zoos [humane or not], importation of endangered animals and birds.)

There are additional questions; however, these five are a good beginning. Consider your answers and then consider the meaning of each question.

Being sensitive to the environment is good for your health!

Post 94-nature

Category:

Flora and fauna, Healing, Uncategorized

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The basic tests for maintaining health, Test #1

treble_staff

The previous post “Monitoring Health” (https://energy-guidance-complete.com/2014/08/24/monitoring-health/) brings awareness of the tests that should be performed in order to evaluate health.

Here is Test #1.

Test #1: Sensitivity to environmental concerns

The state of the environment directly affects the health of people. People who live in a highly polluted and vegetation-free environment are subjected to damage that can cause physical ailments, but also can cause damage to the soul. People who live in a vegetation-rich area, but are careless in their relationship to their environment, can suffer from damage to their physical and soulful selves too.

Disregard for plant life, water sources, and conditions for animal rearing undermines the grounding of the world and damages physical and intellectual health. Knowingly contributing to abuse of fauna and flora damages people—body and soul.

Here are the questions for the basic test:

  1. Recycle? Yes/No/Partially
  2. Use water judiciously? Yes/No/Sometimes
  3. Use chemical agents for cleaning or insect infestations? Yes/No/Only for insect infestations/Only for cleaning
  4. Support conservation efforts and interested in well-being of trees and plants? Yes/No
  5. Care about animal welfare? Yes, including the animals that I eat/Yes, I care about my pet/Yes, except for animals who disturb my garden/No/Sometimes

There are additional questions; however, these five are a good beginning. Consider your answers and then consider the meaning of each question.

Being sensitive to the environment is good for your health!

Post 94-nature

Category:

Flora and fauna, Healing

Tagged with:

Nature’s impact on us

Gift of nature

Want a fantastic treat? Try spending more time in nature.

Many of us tend to trivialize the importance of our encounters with the environment and with other living creatures. Besides the enjoyment that can come from being in nature:

 “The connection to flora and fauna significantly 1) broadens and heightens understanding of cycles and fluctuations; 2) develops appreciative and inquisitive capabilities; and 3) causes people to examine and work with vegetation that aid human life and animals that enhance human existence.” – from “Oneself-Living”

When the weather is hot, many people look for cool retreats. Instead of heading to the mall with its over-air-conditioned assault on the body, find a shaded walk with broad trees, chirping birds, and bountiful vegetation.  The air conditioning overtaxes the body (even if you think it feels good), but the outside temperature strengthens the body (even if you feel sweaty).

Being outside in nature is relaxing, invigorating, and mesmerizing. There are “rules” for feeling relaxed, invigorated, and mesmerized when you are walking in nature:

  1. Have sufficient water so that you stay hydrated.
  2. Wear a hat and clothing that protect from too strong sun. Sun screen is important.
  3. Keep your mobile phone in a bag and not in your hand or pocket. The less you use it or think about it, the more you can enjoy your outdoor experience.
  4. Pay attention to the things that draw your eye. You will gain understanding about yourself and your soul when you recognize natural draws of your attention.

There are magical moments that only occur in the out-of-doors near the trees and vegetation,  really!!

Category:

Flora and fauna

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Aging is manageable when breathing is free, post #6

 

Sequoia

Many people live long, but their lives are plagued by ill health and/or ill mental health. What can we do to live more “not ill” and to live less worriedly about difficult aging? The last five blog posts have explained the importance of breathing for quality health.

Being in nature naturally opens our bodies to healing breathing when two conditions are met: 1) we want to be there and 2) we consciously connect with the flora surrounding us.

Two conditions neutralize the healthful aspects of being in nature: 1) we focus on other stimuli such as headphone-delivered music or words and 2) we consciously ignoring the flora that surround us.

Two conditions cause detrimental consequences when we are in nature: 1) fear and 2) worry.

Here is a personal example of the various conditions. Two years ago (before I was knowingly connected to Spiritual Presence), I went to Sequoia National Park with my husband and children. The weather was hot (August), but we were dressed appropriately and had plenty of water with us.  As we entered the park, I was overwhelmed by the beauty and the majesty of the trees, and I was keen to start our hike. Off to a good start for healing breathing.

We went to the visitor’s center to buy a map and learn whatever the park workers had to tell us. The excitement to get walking was building. As we were buying the map, the worker who was helping us warned us about the presence of bears in the park. I, who grew up fearful, immediately became fearful. I tried to pretend that I was not, but inside I felt frightened. On the hike, my family wanted to stray from the populated paths and walk in the more interesting areas. At first I agreed, but the fear nagged at me. I did enjoy the magnificent trees and I did feel SO grateful to be there, but the fear kept encroaching on my happiness. After we met up with other hikers who had spotted a bear in the distance, I urged my family to go back to a less secluded path. I kept my fear to myself because they were having such a wonderful time, but it remained my constant companion until we were back on the way with the masses. From that point on, I relaxed and enjoyed the wonderful green world around me.

My fearful existence during that hike did not contribute to my good health. The fear was too strong for the circumstances. The others in my family experienced the healing breathing that accompanies connection to nature.

Being in nature should be nourishing, not the opposite. Nature is here as our healing space, if only we can see that. We receive much, much more than we realize when we connect to all that nature has to offer. (I wish I had known that at Sequoia before I let myself give way to old fears. These days, I am more accepting of the uncertainty that comes with walking in the woods.)

 

That’s it for now. We’ll continue to explore breathing in one more post.

Category:

Aging, Breathing

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Unreleased energy leads to laziness

Post 109-unreleased energy For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you know that Spiritual Presence has been pushing us all to spend more time in nature. Being in nature connects us to elements in life that balance and elevate us at the spiritual level. Being in nature stimulates our intellect, restores our emotional well-being, and strengthens our physical and concentration abilities. Being in nature also provides an opportunity to breathe more deeply, breathe less restrictively (letting go of restraining emotions like the need to control our life), and breathe with wonder. Spiritual Presence has also been pushing us to be more physically active –sounds like the advice that most good doctors give. People are meant to move A LOT, and not releasing our energetic and frenetic selves leads to all sorts of problems. One of which is laziness. Laziness is much more negative than it seems. A definition of laziness is “inactivity resulting from a dislike of work” (from TheFreeDictionary). People are meant to work so disliking it is very unbalancing.  Another definition is “apathy and inactivity”. These very negative states cause imbalance to the emotional and spiritual components of health and weakening of the physical component of health. Laziness is different from resting after a substantial output of energy. Taking breaks from work and physical activity is normal rejuvenative activity. Laziness simply wastes gifted talents and possible achievements. Releasing energy through physical, intellectual, and social pursuits is nourishing, balancing, and necessary. Energize!

Category:

Well-being

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Flower arrangements and other once-living lovely things

Post 97-flower arrangement

Flowers have magical properties. They entrance us with their beauty. They captivate us with their smells. They take the focus from surrounding plants and they lure us to the green places to see them.

The magic of life is screened on flowers. Watching a flower grow is like watching a fascinating art movie. From the moment a bud starts to form til the moment the withered flower falls, interest never wanes. At each stage, the flower entrances, captivates, and holds power over us.

Post 97-wild flowers

So much so, that we must have them close at hand—in our homes, in our celebrations, in our personal expressions of love, and in our religious institutions.

But close at hand is not the same as being in a field. The magic begins to fade the moment the flower is cut from its stem because life is no longer flowing. The loss of magic is slow though, which is why we can enjoy them so much when they are close at hand. But their ”dying” in the vase is different from the dying on the vine. Not so captivating, not so enjoyed.

The flowers that grow in the wild provide their magical smells. The flowers grown for arrangements are grown for visual beauty, for extended life, and for more color variety. Natural flower smell is of lesser importance. Smelling flowers that have been grown for floral arrangements leaves the nose and the olfactory receptors in a state of confusion.

Dried flower arrangements are more desirable than artificial flower arrangements because the dried flowers were once alive and they maintain a sense of the live flower.

Post 97-flower arrangements2

Advice for flowers in the home

Flowers are a wonderful addition to the home. Here is the hierarchy for bringing “flower power” into your everyday life:

  1. Potted flowering plants
  2. Potted flowers
  3. Dried flower arrangements
  4. Cut flower arrangements

Enjoy the magic of flowers!

Post 97-flower arrangements3

Category:

Flora and fauna

Tagged with:

Fake nature, no soulful beauty

Post 96-fake nature

Displays of nature that are not living displays of nature (like artificial flowering plants) are neither good nor bad, but they do affect.

A living plant inside a building adds oxygen to the air, adds beauty, and increases the stabilizing positive energy in the building. It draws the eye and, unknowingly to people, uplifts the soul. A fake plant, no matter its similarity to a living one, can only add beauty, and nothing else. The most important work of a living plant is not only not done, but is lost. The uplifting effects of living plants are important and should not be underestimated.

Eating food in a restaurant that is decorated with fake plants fails to feed the soul. Working in an office decorated with fake plants does not energize the workers. Living in a house that contains only fake plants and no living plants is a house bereft of the soulful energy provided by plants. A smattering of fake plants is acceptable as long as there are live plants as well.

A smattering is the amount to use when decorating with fake plants and flowers.

Category:

Flora and fauna

Tagged with:

Nature is the best entertainment

 

Post 95 nature-1

  • Is going to the mall satisfying for the soul? No, not even to people who love shopping (even if they think so).
  • Is playing on the computer or watching a viral video satisfying for the soul? No, not even if the viral video is about a wonderful person.
  • Is sitting at a restaurant satisfying for the soul? It can be, if you are sitting with people who are enriching, but the atmosphere at any restaurant is not enriching for the soul.

Connecting with nature is satisfying for the soul. It just is, because we were designed to be part of nature. Along the way, we lost the importance of our place in nature and we need to get it back. In general, our lives have become very cut off from nature, especially for those who live in large cities or spend too much time in cars or public transportation. There are people who work at staying connected, but they are not the majority.

Post 95-nature 3

 

How to reconnect with nature

  • Plan regular hikes and actually go on the hikes. The hikes don’t have to be long, but they should be in green spaces.
  • Visit parks and nature areas.
  • Visit humane zoos and petting zoos. Contact with animals is an important part of connecting with nature.
  • Shop at farmers’ markets and find farms that have fruit picking. And go pick fruit!
  • Add more plants and potted flowers inside your home.
  • Visit places with water: beaches, lakes, rivers, and springs.
  • Visit botanical gardens.

Try being more connected to nature and see how entertaining it can be. And at the same time, your soul with be nourished and you will become more balanced.

Post 95-nature 2

Category:

Flora and fauna

Tagged with:

Nature can never not be nature

Post 94-nature

The rhythm of nature is a rhythm that people cannot understand. People can study nature—the animals, the vegetation, ourselves—but we cannot really fathom the rhythm. This rhythm has a beat that goes like this:

9. Sway to the up-down-up-sideway-sideways-sideways-down-up

8. Beat 72…8…28…15…39

7. Breathe in&out&in&out&in&out&in&out

The rhythm relies on winds and stillness to alter the sway. The rhythm relies on dew and rain to change the beat. The rhythm relies on light and gravitational pull to change the rhythm of the breath.

The rhythm is connected to the heartbeats of all living things that have hearts. The rhythm is connected to all living things that have wing beats. The rhythm is connected to all living things that glide. The rhythm is connected to all living things that effloresce (blossom).

The rhythm is so intertwined and so constantly going to the beats, wing beats, movements, openings and closings that an interruption interrupts much. That is why when people make a change in nature, they don’t realize what they are doing to the …

Category:

Flora and fauna

Tagged with:

A puzzle of plastic

puzzle

Plastic bottles, plastic bags—obvious things made from plastic. Remote controls, the grips of many cooking pans, polyester clothing— less obvious things made from plastic. Plastic is an integral part of our lives.

Puzzling how we so easily bring plastic into our lives and let the nature go.

What if we were to make nature as integral a part of our lives as we make plastic. What would we add to our homes? Plants, flowers—obvious natural objects. Also baskets of fruit (to be admired and then eaten), cloth dyed with natural colors, useful and decorative items made from wood or stone.

Category:

Environmental caring

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At the top of the stairs is Spiritual connection

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Yesterday’s blog was about Spiritual connection. Not sure if that was clear. It was not clear to me until I asked—so I guess I cheated :-). It’s nice to be connected to the Teacher.

From Pond a Connected Existence:

“In The Gift of Intuitive, Dedicated Comfort, steps are provided for connecting with spiritual presence. They are as follows:

‘…observing nature, the actions of babies, the movement of the seasons, the shenanigans of animals, the idiosyncrasies of the opposite sex, and the idiosyncrasies of one’s own sex’.

The passive observation of others and of nature cause analysis, cause consideration of seemingly incongruent and inconsequential subjects, and cause rumination on creation, on the wonder of life, and on how incredible the world’s creatures can be.

Spiritual presence exists in all aspects of nature….”

The list above is the way for people who are doubting to get connected. Doubting is in vogue in our generation, but it is not how people were in the past. When people were more connected to nature, they were simply more spiritual.

If you want to connect and feel you aren’t, start now. To quote again from Pond a Connected Existence:

“Each person has a connection. The awareness of this connection is influenced by societal beliefs and by individual faith and sense of relating to natural elements of life. The awareness is felt in many ways: intuition, gut feelings, sense of security or buttress or admonishment, hearing a voice or a whisper or a sense of a voice, vibrations throughout the body, flashes of knowing or of understanding, through slenderpointed dreams, constant feeling of clear direction, flash of inspiration or clarity, signals of peace, or awareness of future priorities caused by glimpses of Next.”

Wishing you an easier climb up the stairs.

Category:

Spiritual connection

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Healing attention issues through nature

Post 81-helaing through nature

Mountains
Rolling hills
Roadside scenery
These things
Take for granted
People
People

People,
People
Take for granted
These things:
Roadside scenery
Rolling hills
Mountains

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Applications
Social network games
Internet sensations
These things
Too much focus
From.
Distraction!

 Distraction
From
Too much focus
These things:
Internet sensations
Social network games
Applications

@@@@@@@@@@@

“The influences of nature were once the major influences on people. Some people and cultures run their lives around the cycles of nature, but the number of people who are nature-centric lessens with developments in technology. The ways in which people are affected and driven by nature are many. Being cut off from nature contributes to lowered attentiveness which in turn decreases attention capabilities. The connection to flora and fauna significantly 1) broadens and heightens understanding of cycles and fluctuations; 2) develops appreciative and inquisitive capabilities; and 3) causes people to examine and work with vegetation that aid human life and animals that enhance human existence. When people allowed fluctuations of time, season, and life to govern their lives, they developed more attentive skills.”  from the chapter “What is Attention Capability?” in Oneself—Living (soon to be published).

Without a constant connection to nature, the ability to concentrate for extended periods of time is lessened and unappreciated, the ability to focus is shortened, and the ability to be resourceful is lessened. Not for everyone, but for most.

The lessening and shortening of concentration, focus and resourcefulness have led to wide-scale lack-of-attention problems. Occasionally, the problems have additional contributors such as genetic or hereditary deficits or human-inflicted causes (abuse or improper treatment). Lack-of-attention problems have become big business, and the causes are being overlooked, while the symptoms are being treated or over-treated.

The best way to reverse attention lack-of is to rediscover nature!

  • More walks in green areas!
  • More visits to parks and nature areas!
  • More visits to petting zoos and to farms that allow the animals to be touched!
  • More fruit picking and visits to farmers’ markets!
  • More plants and flowers inside the home and more attention to landscaping outside the home!
  • More observation of roadside scenery, of the sky and of the landscape around us!
  • More visits to water: beaches, lakes, rivers and springs!
  • More visits to botanical gardens and other city gardens!
  • More participation in community gardens and garden clubs!
  • More making of mud pies and castles in the sand!
  • More walking barefoot in the grass!
  • More playing of instruments! (Oops-this hint belongs in another post, but it applies here too 🙂

Category:

Attention deficit

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“The main thing to remember is that each life has potential,…

…and each potential bring opportunity for elevation.”

Leaves--Journey

In The Gift for Intuitive, Dedicated Comfort, the journey of life is explored.

“The path one chooses is actually many paths; each path leading into a wider and longer path. The ability to try is the key to creating a valuable life. Valuable here means creatively challenged, joyful, balanced in terms of self vs. community, and accepting of the vagrancies of nature and life events. So many tributaries feed into the river that forms and sculpts our lives. Each chance meeting; each struggle to learn something new, to hone existing skills, to push beyond; each encounter with nature; each encounter with nature’s creatures; each exchange—verbal, physical, or with divine understanding; each decision, non-decision, decision result. All these parts combine, repel, stack, and group to shape, mold, and create the people that we are.”

“…each encounter with nature, each encounter with nature’s creatures…”  Many of us tend to trivialize the importance of our encounters with the environment and with other living creatures.  “The connection to flora and fauna significantly 1) broadens and heightens understanding of cycles and fluctuations; 2) develops appreciative and inquisitive capabilities; and 3) causes people to examine and work with vegetation that aid human life and animals that enhance human existence.” from Book #3.

The photo above is my attempt at nature art. As the wind blew my collected leaves around, I thought about the need to relax expectations (I had collected 1000 leaves). The leaves were interesting to work with: varying colors, sizes, and shapes; easy to work with until the wind whipped them up; and versatile in their ability to form lines, corners, and curves.

The more we encounter nature, the more we understand ourselves.

Category:

Flora and fauna

Tagged with:

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