Are you separate from Nature?

A few weeks ago I was fortunate to attend a talk by Paul Hawken. One of his main messages was that we humans are not separate from nature and we  need to break this perception. Ancient belief systems have understood that we are a part of nature and that we are all interconnected to each other and to nature.

According to Rosemary Radfod Reuther, it was the invention of the concepts of 'nature' and 'culture' that allowed humans to degrade the former.

"It defines nature as a reality below and separated from 'man', rather than one nexus in which humanity itself is inseparably embedded".

So, how do we foster the old perception? How do we live our daily lives in a way that enhances our connection to each other and our surroundings? 

Our health is not separate from the health of our planet
If your home is dirty, mouldy, and falling apart your health will probably be suffering too. We understand this and take care of our homes. We respect and take pride in making our homes feel livable and healthy. Why do we often clean our homes before guests come over? Because we feel that our homes are reflections of us. If my home is a mess, I feel this is a reflection on me and my life. If my home is in temporary disarray, often my life is in temporarily disarray. When I find the time to organize my home, often my life will begin to feel more organized and less overwhelming. Our health is connected to the health of our homes. We get this. All we need to do is scale this up. In reality, our homes don't end at our fence lines. In this globalized world, our homes don't even end at the boundaries of our watersheds, biozones, and airsheds. The food we eat often comes from beyond these boundaries and so we have a vested connection to the health of a world-wide home. It's up to us to work together to ensure we all contribute to caring for a healthy home. Is everyone helping out around the home? Do some hog all the hot water? Do some end up doing all the dishes and dealing with all the trash? Or are we equally chipping in to ensure a happy and healthy home? You can get pleasure caring for your global home knowing that it is contributing to the health of you and everyone you share it with. That's pretty fulfilling. 

Our health is not separate from the health of others
When someone you live with is depressed or angry, it can really impact your own health and happiness. It changes the feeling in your home and can often make it a place you don't feel comfortable in. When someone is sick, this also changes the dynamic in the home. In addition to the  ill person's well-being, it often puts strain on the healthy individuals as they have to care for the ill person and take on more of the house-hold duties to ensure the home stays healthy and livable and the illness doesn't spread (which is often does). This applies on a larger scale too. When a percent of a country is ill or unemployed, it can have severe consequences for everyone. It puts strains on those that are healthy and employed, just as it puts strains on the healthy individuals in a household.  So...you can get pleasure from caring for your global community knowing that it's contributing your health. 


Don't label things as "Resources"
Water, soil, trees, fossil fuels, fish, animals..you name it...these are not resources for us to exploit. We understand that our health is interconnected to the health of our home and each other. So it's in our best interest to care for all the components that make up our diverse and balanced home.

The easiest way to care for yourself is to care for your global home and those you share it with. Who knew? We can all be totally self-serving by serving the whole.