nature

We’ve been talking about nature – Nature – for the past few newsletters.  Okay, I’ve been talking and you’ve, presumably, been listening.  (Remember, that comment space down there is to establish a dialog.)

Sometimes Nature gets really overwhelming and it’s really hard to stay connected.  We’ve had a lot of that lately . . . floods, droughts, wildfires.  All pretty scary stuff.  Even from a distance, and especially when we’re in the midst of it.  Chaos in our climate.

If we look from macrocosm to microcosm, we see things like fevers or tumours or other reactions to the chaos that can develop in our physical systems.  Anxiety.  Debility.  Things that lead us to the fear of the other “D” word.

It can be really tempting to give up and pretend that we can dwell only in the spirit and mind.  We won’t even try to play with the big boys and girls.

Did you notice that word “pretend”?  Sorry to say, when we cut off consciousness to the physical, we’re also cutting off from mind and spirit.  They’re a package deal, folks.  Can you say “delusion”?

So what do we do when nature/Nature gets that big and scary?

There’s a long and a short version of that story and they’re both spelled “m-e-d-i-t-a-t-i-o-n”.

We’ve got this amazing connector between our various aspects: breath.

The short version is, pay attention to your breathing when you’re confronted with the immensity and chaos of life.  Get all Greek goddess and just do it.

The long version is, pay attention to your breathing.  Really pay attention.  Which nostril is taking in more air at the moment?  What moves when you breathe?  Do you like exhaling more than inhaling?  Which takes longer?  Is every breath the same?  Do you breathe more into one side of the body than the other?  More into the front or back?  Are there sobs or sighs happening on the way in or out?

Look, you’re still alive, so you’ve been breathing “correctly” so far.  The point is not to do it “right”; it’s to be attentive to that basic connection between your body, mind and spirit.

You don’t really have a choice about staying with nature/Nature. Let your breath help you not to lose your mind or spirit as you stay with the difficult times in your body.

Last month, you had an opportunity to look at some of your attitudes toward your body.  In the tried and true tradition of connecting microcosm with macrocosm, let’s consider how that reflects your relationship with your very own home planet, Earth.

(Okay, I just know some of you out there are reminding me that you don’t actually come from here.  I’m fine with that.  Just remember that you’re living here and you don’t want to be like the bad tourists who make a mess and then leave it for the inhabitants to clean up.)

We live in such an amazing time: we’ve got access to images of the whole Earth.  We can follow weather systems as they shift and change and interact with each other.  We have a sense of how air, water and sea exchange with each other.

But when was the last time you noticed the phase of the moon?

And do your sleep or eating patterns change with the seasons?  Intentionally?

Caring for the Earth can seem an insanely huge project, way beyond Don Quixote and windmill-tilting.  Hell, caring for our physical needs is more than many of us can manage with family, work, and other demands.

So, what did you find last month?  What was the glaring area or attitude that deserves some attention and a re-write or do-over?

If that were a metaphor for something bigger on the planet, what would it be?  Are you running down the soil, by never giving it a rest or a change?  Are you polluting the air by tossing garbage into your lungs?  Is your refusal to take time for water intake causing a drought?

Yes, we’re being simplistic here.  Because we can solidify our personal nature intentions by approaching them from the global perspective.  And those of us who are already concerned about the bigger picture can find our personal reflections of the problems we see out there.

If your intention is to stop running yourself ragged, and the only doorway out of that you can see is to need less, here’s your opportunity to reduce, reuse and recycle.  If your blood pressure spikes because you haven’t been dealing with your emotions regularly, here’s your opportunity to defuse the emotional violence in the world with compassionate conversation.  If you want to tune your sleep cycles to the natural world, here’s your opportunity to observe and mirror the patterns of the flora and fauna around you.

Despite our cultural behaviour, we are not separate from the rest of nature.  Here’s your chance to reconnect with the rest of our tribe.

How much do you love your little slice of nature: your body?

Tell the truth.  If your sweetheart treated you the way you treat your body, would you break up with him or her?

If you poured the stuff you pour into – or onto — your body into your water, would you let your loved ones drink it?

Do you remember your body’s favourite places and foods or do you cater only to your taste buds and temper tantrums?

Your relationships go better when you’re listening to each other and acting on what you’ve heard, don’t they?  So how do you listen to your body?  It’s giving out signals all the time; are you tuned in?

How are your children when you let them indulge in all the processed sugar they can get their hands on?  It isn’t fun to find discipline, but it’s productive, isn’t it?

Conversely, how are your romantic or family relationships when it’s all about discipline and janitor service?  What happens when you pull all the fun out?

How did Valentine’s Day go with that really awful suitor who stopped at the 7-11 for half-dead flowers and pulled a half-eaten Snicker’s bar out of his pocket like it was solid gold?  (True story!! Not mine, fortunately.)

How can you be more of you, in a better relationship with yourself?

Take a look at the basics: sleep, food, water, movement, play, sex.  (What?  Play is a basic?  Yup.)  Where do you want to start treating yourself better?  (Remember the “listening to your body” questions?  Start there.)   How can you make that happen?

Who could you be if you’d be loving and kind to your body?

(Did you notice we just played “20 questions”?)