MOVING FROM OBJECT TO SUBJECT
Humans have been co-evolving with Nature for hundreds of thousands of years, for better or worse. Somewhere along the way, many of us separated from the natural environment. It became us versus Nature, rather than us as part of Nature and all its pieces. We have lost our place in the great spectrum of a More Than Human World and have been trying to find our way back ever since.
When we greet the forest and accept the invitation to commune, we place ourselves back into that co-evolution. We remember the source of co-regulation, as we never regulate alone; our breath is a collaborative action, happening together with the trees. This fosters our aptitude for connection and overall well-being.
For many, Nature is a sanctuary. We run or hike through it, camp at the edges of it, even gaze lovingly at its beauty, and it always brings back a familiar feeling—a solace—that we often wish we could take back to "the real world" with us. A kind of antidote to modern life; we fill up in Nature and then return to the regularly scheduled program.
Now, what would it be like if we went deeper, slower, and more contemplative: with as opposed to in? When we move into a conversation with Nature, we cultivate deeper embodiment. We begin to remember our true selves are not just found in Nature, but as Nature.
Forest bathing is a somatic adventure that rebuilds our innate relationships with Nature and ourselves.
Humans are designed to connect through our bodies, not our brains. When we see someone we love, we can feel it in our chest. When we are dysregulated, we might feel it in our bellies, our legs, or our head. Our first and innate communication with our internal landscape, as well as our external landscape, exists somatically.
Forest bathing and nature therapy can rekindle this innate relationship through simple invitations that engage us directly through our senses. Relating wholeheartedly with our surroundings opens a profound channel of communication, fostering deeper comprehension and reconnection with our inherent collective relationships.
Input dependency separates us from our curative capacity.
Collectively, we have an issue with input dependency. Our current behavior of constantly reaching for external sources of entertainment, information, and stimulation has undermined our immediate ability to tend to ourselves, soothe our systems, and find calm. The result is a scattered experience that has diminished our ability to be alive within ourselves. In late-stage capitalism, that often presents itself as consumption. We often extend beyond our capacities through consumerism and consumption, resulting in individual and collective loneliness, isolation, and general disconnection.
These deflated experiences have released us from deep connection with our senses, our bodies, and our true nature. The thing is, we are not separate from Nature. 99.9% of the time humans have been on Earth, we have been in deep collaboration with the land. We have co-evolved with the trees, the mountains, and all the beings that inhabit this place. I believe that time spent reflecting on and connecting with the reality of this undeniable relationship is deeply restorative to not only our individual bodies but will serve the betterment of our planet as a whole.
Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.
-- Robin Wall Kimmerer
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