nature: a part of or apart from?

[panic in paradise]

i feel that if we live as a part of or with nature, rather then live amongst and around nature we would have a greater understanding and respect for ourselves, and life in general. to me seeing the mass and the fragility, the water and the land, the opposites that create, death that fertilizes, and rainy clouds that make rainbows. its all there, around us and in us.

do you feel you have a good connection with nature? what in nature do you feel the strongest connection with, and how does it affect your life?

what part(s) of nature do you neglect, or are away from(intentionally or not), and how does that affect your life?

what in nature reminds you of yourself?

- me? a river crossing several states; carving a path, moving all the time, out of control or obstructed sometimes, going from one thing to the next, seeing as much as possible, making a difference and moving on to try again, shaping, feeding, carrying what needs to be to the mother ocean.

what in nature reminds you of a current event in your life, and how it should be handled?

-me? a spider making a web; there are on going long term situations ive got my self in and have recently made my way through some life changers this past year. so i chose a spider making a web because i need to be premeditative, and have a good plan laid out in my mind. one that needs to be carried out precisely, patiently, fighting mundane tasks, and being in a strategic area, or mind set as a whole to begin with.

i will leave it here, im really interested to see some of yalls responses, and to see what questions pertaining to the topic you come up with.... and answer.

 

[ocean]

I, of course was very happy to see this here
This is one of my favorite subjects and I am constantly trying to understand natures lessons.....

what in nature do you feel the strongest connection with, and how does it affect your life?

When I really think about this I have to say the earth itself.
All of it-
It has affected my life in a thousand different ways-
It has opened my eyes to new parts of myself....
helped me put my everyday problems into perspective.......
helped heal me in my darkest times.........
opened my mind.......

When I lost our baby- I laid in bed staring at the wall for days-I was so depressed........
I don't believe in Jesus Christ but instead believe that our 'higher power' is in all nature- So I was angry at nature. (funny I know) ..... I was so upset that life was going on around me...
Then PIP came in and told me I had to get out of the bed and he set up chairs outside for us.....I didn't want to but did......We sat there- It was just after a rainstorm and the clouds were really dark but everything seemed to glow with life- And PIP said-something like 'It seems so dark out here-but the trees are coming alive-the birds are singing-the flowers are beginning to bloom-they are soaking in the rain.......life is going on all around us' - I felt this weight lifting off of me. I needed my time to soak in the rain-to feel the darkness but when the sun would shine again for me I would be healthier for it.......I would be stronger for it......Then we talked more about nature. And what got me through one of the hardest times of my life was what PIP showed me and realizing the connection I had to the earth. Her children die everyday, every winter- but they come back again, vibrant and full of life....... I knew these things- but I needed PIP to show me again-

And the Ocean- Because she is the heartbeat of the earth.........there is something deep and mysterious about her......she embraces the unknown........There isn't much that will calm me like sitting on a beach listening to her and imagining the secrets she has

"what part(s) of nature do you neglect, or are away from(intentionally or not), and how does that affect your life?"
If we are talking all natural things- I would say insects I don't pay much attention to them and maybe losing out on something- I would have never thought of a spider making a web in the way you(PIP) described - so maybe I need to look at them more often

"what in nature reminds you of yourself?"
I would have said a whale or a bird before- never having a place to call home.....always exploring and seeking out change..........
But now I would say........a tree .
A tree because I am grounded in many ways and love my roots.....but I am always trying to connect with the sky......I am always changing and trying to grow........

I have a question to add here......
What do you think is natures most important lesson?

I will answer with one of my favortie quotes...........

"Let children walk with Nature, let them see the beautiful blendings and communions of death and life, their joyous inseparable unity, as taught in woods and meadows, plains and mountains and streams of our blessed star, and they will learn that death is stingless indeed, and as beautiful as life." -John Muir

With all endings- comes a new beginning. Nature teaches us this repeatedly
Yay for this thread! I hope more people will respond...........

 

[RedLeader]

PIP, have you seen this? If not, I think you'd really, really like it.

 

[panic in paradise]

oh of course.

 

[n3ophy7e]

Wow, what a fantastic thread!!

I am very connected with nature, I thrive when I am out in its midst. Whether it's camping, hiking, skiing, whatever. I always feel so comfortable out in nature, never scared or worried, always at peace and ever more fulfilled.

I am most in touch with the weather, all aspects of it. It excites me, it inspires me, it teaches me. When I am watching a storm, that is when I am my true self, my soul is bared to the world. One of my favourite things to do in this world is to stand out in the rain, getting soaked to the bone. The power of wind never ceases to amaze me. Optical effects of the sun through the clouds (rainbows, coronas, iridesence, sun dogs etc etc) are so magical, I always feel so privileged having seen them.

Also, I am very connected with all wildlife. Mammals, birds, insects, everything. I always feel so privileged if I can witness a wild animal in it natural habitat, going about its business.

I can't pinpoint one aspect of nature that describes me as a person...

 

[ocean]

Yay, a response!
I love weather.........
We are weather nerds too

 

[chicpoena]

I love this thread already

I feel a powerful connection to nature, which is odd considering I live in a huge city. I grew up in the mountains and spent summers working on my family's farm. I feel a deep and unceasing connection to the earth. I live near an awesome park so any time I want to feel connected I can go sit on the earth. Living in a city is an exciting daily adventure for me. When I think about where I want to live when I'm older and have children to raise, my thoughts always turn back to mountains.

If I was a part of nature, I would be the weather of the American mid-South (OK, Ark., Southern KS and Southern MO). Generally of a bright and sunny disposition, but quite volatile. Moments of anger and pain tend to burst out of me with the violence (and rareness) of a tornado. I can become cloudy easily, but am never dark for longer than a day. Most of the time I very warm and inviting, but when I'm cold it's with the ferocity of an ice storm.

 

[ocean]

^wow.
Good post!
What mountains did you live in?

 

[n3ophy7e]

When I think about where I want to live when I'm older and have children to raise, my thoughts always turn back to mountains.

Same with me chic
Either the mountains (where I spent a lot of my childhood on skiing holidays) or on a farm in semi-rural NSW Australia (where I grew up).

 

[Lysis]

I thought this was P&S for a second!

Anyway, I don't believe in any connection other than the typical energy exchange. I do enjoy nature though. It's amazing the change in attitude and uplifting feeling I get when I spend some times outdoors in the sunlight for a change. I also note my feelings are different when out in the moonlight. I love the night - it's mysterious.

 

[tittysnacks74]

I earnestly wish I was more connected to the great web of nature, as I revere it devotionally. However, in CA's central valley, smog obscures most of the sky and all the natural verdancy has long since been dispatched in favor of industrialized farmland.

I seek refuge at my friend's organic farm whenever I can I love it there. And the mountains are fairly nearby.

 

[chicpoena]

^wow.
Good post!
What mountains did you live in?

The Ozarks

 

[wingnutlives]

I feel the strongest connection with EARTH - trees and plants, dirt, rocks and mountains - and also a strong connection with water. I always feel so much calmer when I am in a completely natural area, especially when it's far away from the city.

I think I am most like a stream. I'm small, and I'm never still, I'm always looking for something.

Water rapids represent my current events in life. I feel like my life is out of control, but when I flow along with it everything works out.

 

[SilverFeniks]

I was pretty disconnected from nature, growing up in a perfect suburbia, until I was 17 and moved to where stepping outside + walking across the street = being in the woods.
I loved it; really opened up my mind to the beauty of nature + allowed me some peace + sanctity.

Been stuck in a city for a while now; there's tons of rural areas in my region, but I'm too poor to move right now.
I have friends in some big cities, visiting is always an adventure/excitement, but I can only dream of moving out somewhere surrounded by trees + clouds, not houses + cars.
Gotta be rich to do that tho, unless I wanna live in a tent! And I don't like getting wet

 

[ocean]

SF- Your thing says you live in Oregon!!!! You should be close to beautiful areas!! You don't have to have money to go explore the woods- you should go do it one day......get back out there if it made you feel good before.
! And you don't have to be rich to live in the mountains or the country- actually its cheaper.....at least where we are..........and tents protect you from the rain if you choose that route

 

[Depone]

AMAZING thread....

this is so true....

when i have been consumed by the city and our made up life and havent been getting out into nature/down the beach i forget THAT I AM APART OF NATURE...essentailly im just an evolved monkey....

we lived that way for longer than this way...living off the land, surrounded by it at all times.

its damn good for my soul to be at the beach/next to the river or out in the bush...or even just near trees : )

i try to aspire to be like a tree and just stand there and be still...let life just flow around me and grow through it....get burned and grow back...so many lessons to be learned.

i feel the connection strongest next to natural water sources.

peace.

 

[SilverFeniks]

SF- Your thing says you live in Oregon!!!! You should be close to beautiful areas!! ...
! And you don't have to be rich to live in the mountains or the country- actually its cheaper.....at least where we are...

Hah, yes, most of the state is very beautiful.
I just happen to live in the inner-city slum. Recently got wheels again tho; just wish I had friends to escape with.
The mountains are most expensive, but the country generally is cheaper .. But I walk to work, the grocery store, just about everywhere .. The one thing I don't know how I'd live without

I don't know how people can live in smoggy cities with no trees, though. Artifical enviroments create artificial personalities; you lose site of what's natural and basic and become one more ant in the giant maze.
Nothing clears my head like escaping the concrete jungle and seeing nothing.

Gotta have more than a brown landscape tho!

 

[footscrazy]

I like this gread, great posts everyone, especially yours Ocean...
I love nature and feel a deep connection with it. For me, no landscape has to be remarkable or impressive for to me to connect with it - in fact I will feel the deepest connection with the smallest aspects of nature - the dusty leaves of a tree lining a city street, or a weed pushing between sleepers on the train line. I love walking through my suburb and finding an old hidden drain overgrown with weeds and wildflowers. But I also find a real beauty in urban environments - actually, the theme of my last art folio was 'the urban jungle'.

I'd have to say what reminds me in nature of myself is that small plant that somehow manages to grow in a concrete jungle - not in an optimal environment, struggling a bit and different from the things that surround it, but growing on regardless

As for what you were saying Panic in Paradise, I agree in that I think being removed from nature has greatly harmed us and nature, too. People who don't have a direct connection to the land don't have a sense of how they are destroying it. When you live from the land and see how your abuse of it will directly affect your livelihood and welfare, it's easy to do something about it. But most of us are so removed from that that we just can't conceptualise what effects were are actually having, and it's easier not to care, too.

 

[Cyc]

Enjoying nature has a lot to do with the physical form. The better you feel about your body, the more natural the connection with nature. I feel privileged to have spent some good years in my youth embraced by the Northern hinterlands

 

[ocean]

As for what you were saying Panic in Paradise, I agree in that I think being removed from nature has greatly harmed us and nature, too. People who don't have a direct connection to the land don't have a sense of how they are destroying it. When you live from the land and see how your abuse of it will directly affect your livelihood and welfare, it's easy to do something about it. But most of us are so removed from that that we just can't conceptualise what effects were are actually having, and it's easier not to care, too.

This is ssooooo true.