Nurture Your Nature
With
Robin’s Three R’s:
Remember, Reconnect, Restore
In this modern world of shopping malls and pulsing freeways, technological gadgets and everything virtual it can be easy to stay in the grind of this sterile and artificial landscape. As we continue to explore Octobers intention of balance, this week I will speak of my first greatest love; nature.
When I moved toArizonafromMontanaI was shocked at the development that seemed to spread across the desert land like steady moving lava enveloping every pore of the earth. It saddened me and I knew that my experience of living here was going to be much different than the pureness of the Big Sky country and the ever-renewing growth of the Rocky Mountains. An experience, none-less, that was necessary for my own adaptation, awareness and acceptance.
As my children came into the world, it was a priority in my parenting to allow them to merge with nature the way I had as a kid. We honor nature as if it were a boundless temple of the greatest worship. We have moon practices, sunrises and sunset watches, we explore what land there is and we all pay thanks to the great mother that holds us in depths of space.
One of their favorite nature-oriented playtimes is messing around in mud. We created a mud pit in the yard, and let them loose; slipping sliding, mud-pies and mud castles, imaginary swamp monsters and mud super heroes, it was hours of endless, battery free entertainment. It made them stronger and move alive, I am sure! I was telling the preschool teacher about the infamous mud pit. She was so excited to hear that I let them play like that. We invited the whole class over for Mud Day. Many of the children were scared to touch the mud, they were shocked that they were allowed to get dirty and experiment with the earth. I was shocked that they were scared….of mud! It was insightful for all of us and solidified my beliefs that as the modern world takes hold with concrete roots, it is crucial that we maintain a healthy connection to our earth.
There are the very powerful three R’s; reduce, reuse and recycle. Honor these, please! But for this posting I have created my own R’s; REMEMBER, RECONNECT, RESTORE!
REMEMBER: Where we come from, the nature of intelligence is incredible and unarguable. Remember how mesmerized you were as a child of the great big world, always wanting to feel it, taste it, move through it with such a curiosity. Think of how much life operates all on its own accord, without the silly ego or machines and media telling it to do so. The heart beats because of nature, the lungs breathe, and the plants grow from a dark hole in the ground because nature guides them towards the light. Penguins march, babies are born, storms rumble, the earth spins, the sun shows up everyday; the world around is a demonstration of the beautifully complex world within; it is the smartest, most powerful force that exists, and we have forgotten. So please, take some time to remember our greatest gift; the natural world, the essence of us all. We are not separate from the natural world, we are not better than it, we are the same, and when we honor the earth, we honor ourselves.
RECONNECT: Get outside!!! Walk barefoot through grass or mud. Yes, adults, tap into that child and be playful. Play in the sand at the park, plant a garden, or get a pet to connect with animals. Hike, bike, kayak find a new hobby that is outdoors. Bring a blanket to the park, lay in the sun and read, meditate, make love if you wish. Watch clouds dissolve and the wind speak to the trees. Listen to the song of the morning birds and the screech of the hungry night owl. Remember your unique place in the world amongst the beautiful portrait of natural things.
RESTORE: To restore is to heal, and to heal is make whole. We are not complete without our understanding of the natural Self. Because we are incredible ‘products’ of nature, it is inevitable that being in and with nature will bring a more enhanced experience of life; we will find a deeper, more inspiring embodiment in all that we do. When we allow ourselves to open to creation and surrender to the great mystery we allow our self to contemplate and experience the richness of all life.
I invite you this week, and hopefully the rest of you life, to continue a practice that honors the nature that moves around you, and the nature than moves within you. Take my three R’s as a practice off the mat that will truly Nurture you!
I’m off to the mountain,
Many blessings,
Robin Afinowich
