Found in Nature
Being of Nature
Upon existing, I’ve found many things to revel in the presence of nature.
Regulation
{Re-charging/Forest-bathing}
Nature reminds us to return to our bodies and believe in the intelligence of our breath. Many cultures like in Japan have practices related to regulating in nature called “forest bathing” or Shinrin-yoku.
Receiving the sunlight and moving our legs keep us in touch with our where we come from, who we really are and embody us in our existence on this planet.
Clarity
{Self-Reflection/Meditation/Intimacy}
Nature gives us the opportunity and gift of clarity. When I am in the woods or by the sea, I can feel the air revive my lungs and renew me with fresh eyes. The best way that I can better connect myself and something greater than me has always been the land.
It has given me the timelessness for self-reflection and meditations of what is beyond me. In this way, I nurture an intimacy with the world I know has always been there from the beginning of creation.
Volunteering
{Local habitats/Stewardship}
In my home of Southern California, there are a vast number of marine protected areas and wildlife that need our stewardship and protection. For the past 5 years I have focused on restoring the wetlands and marsh regions of Orange County that have a huge infestation of yellow mustard, Russian thistle, ice plant, etc.
To counteract the effects of these invasive plants, we grow new roots for native species creating more space for our wetlands birds to nest, increasing populations of Least Terns.
We need all hands on deck (or in the soil) for our home and your home to find its way back to health and harmony above all species or flora, fauna and human alike.
Southern California Wetlands and Beaches
Being a continuous volunteer of my local habitat encouraged me to take ownership of its maintenance and care. It has deepened my roots and connected me in many ways to my community, the egrets and glossy marshes that surround the Southern California coastline.
I feel lucky to live in such a gorgeous land and be a custodian of its beauty.
I hope you put into practice any of these opportunities to be enamored by the natural realm.
I will leave you with this quote from Shoghi Effendi, To an individual believer, 17 February 1933:
We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions.
— Shoghi Effendi
Truly,
Mel
