“We often forget that WE ARE NATURE. Nature is not something separate from us. So when we say that we have lost our connection to nature, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves.”

― Andy Goldsworthy

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Hello friends!

I hope this finds you and yours well and at peace.  It’s been over 2 months since I last shared with you.  Life here has been, well, eye opening.  So much has happened in just two months!  I have so much that I want to share with you concerning aging animals, behavior, healing, animal companions, energy, and conscious communication!

But not today.

Considering the current state of affairs around the world I was inspired to share something that I believe we all need right now: Nature

How’s your nature-intake-level?  Are you practicing the self care habit of unplugging from nightmarish news, and enjoying a hiatus of sensational social media?  I am. And it feels frigging GREAT.

When was the last time you headed out of the house for a walk in the woods?  Do you make time to smell the intoxicating scent of a freshly blooming rose?  Can you remember what it felt like the last time you sank your feet into the sand?  Have you ever hugged a tree? When was the last time you allowed yourself to really experience the gifts and healing powers of Mother Nature?

Today we are less connected to Nature than ever before in human history. Our busy lifestyles and hectic schedules don’t allow us the freedom to find rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation in nature.

Yet that is exactly what we need.

My Cherokee ancestors knew that being in tune with our Mother Earth is one of the most powerful tools we have. Being in nature allows us to develop a more fulfilling, peaceful, and enlightened life.  Being In Tune with Nature allows for a deeper connection with all Life – including our animal companions and our fellow earth travelers.

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If there is any wisdom running through my life now, in my walking on this earth, it came from listening in the Great Silence to the stones, trees, space, the wild animals, to the pulse of all life as my heartbeat.

-Vijali Hamilton

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Nature Heals.

Nature Connects.

Nature Nourishes.

So why aren’t we out there on a daily basis? Are we making excuses for why we can’t be outside?  Are we disconnected from the purest source of nourishment? What takes our focus and time? Have we forgotten what nature has to offer us all?

We have never truly “lost” our connection to nature; we have forgotten how to engage it. When we fail to have reverence for nature and connect with the energies of all that nature encompasses we lose something valuable – our intimate connection with each other, with wildlife, with the Earth, and with All That Is.

Nature is a refuge. She is solace. A teacher. A healer.  When we connect with nature we are connected to All Life.  We are open to receiving. We are able to giving.  We find balance. We are open to discovery, learning, healing, and enlightenment.

The reason is quite simple: We are part of nature; we are not separate from it.

But we often feel so disconnected.

When I appear to lose my connection, I appear to be separate from All that Is.
But when I am in nature I Am tuned in, tapped in, and turned on!

I become consciously awake.

Then I remember.
I laugh at my forgetfulness.
I give thanks.
Thanks for remembering the Truth.

I Am not *Part* of Nature.
I Am nature.
She is me.
The roaring winds
The turbulent seas
The peaceful sunset
The strong trees
They are me.

What I do to nature,
I am doing to me.

You are nature.
Nature is you.
All that you see is you.
The beauty.
The destruction.
The rebirth.

How we treat nature
How we view nature
How we give to nature
How we take from nature
It’s all a reflection of ourselves.

Interconnectedness.

We do not exist independently
We are not separate from everything else.

There is no “else”.
We are not separate from anyONE.
That belief, my fellow earth travelers, is the illusion.
A trick of the ego.
Untruth.
Harmful in every way.

We have forgotten the Truth.
But we can remember.

GO into nature.
Listen. Feel. Know.
Sit in silence.
Remember.

Let Nature heal you.

Let Nature inspire you.

Let Nature show you.

Be open to the miracles and magic.

Do not accept this little, fenced-off aspect as yourself.  The sun and ocean are as nothing beside what you are.  The sun beam sparkles only in the sunlight, and the ripple dances as it rests upon the ocean.  Yet in neither sun nor ocean is the power that rests in you.

– A Course In Miracles