Where did we lose our connection to Nature?

Watching Attenborough’s “Extinction: The Facts” at the weekend, I was heartbroken by the images. The horrifying intensive cattle production, the tragedy of the last two white rhinos and ecosystems being destroyed to grow soya, a cash crop, that would be shipped to another part of the world as animal feed. My heart was broken open. How could be have become so removed from nature as to not care? Why do we not value ecosystems? Why do we feel separate from nature? What happened in our history?

The Burning Times was a period of about three centuries in Europe. Mainly women were killed because they were said to be witches. This was the separation of human from nature; man from woman.

Why did it occur?

There was dramatic climate change around 1460- 1540, it’s referred to as the Little Ice Age. You may have seen paintings in galleries of people skating on the frozen rivers. The growing season shortened, crops failed, 80 years of heavy storms and longer harsher winters. Lakes and rivers froze. Rivers and canals were main trade routes. This resulted in malnutrition and famine which leads to disease and epidemics. People were suffering and this caused social tension.

During the Middle Ages there was a pervasive dogma of Christianity portraying God as separate from nature. God was father sky and nature was mother earth. In searching for a culprit for the starvation the Church began to frame nature as the workings of the Devil.

Rural communities had lived in harmony with nature, working with natural cycles. In 1485 Pope Innocent VII ordered an official “witch hunt” which lasted nearly 300 years (Hutchin & Storm 2019). In communities medicine women held the wisdom of plant medicines and healing. In this new religious patriarchal system, it was dangerous to be a wise and/or independent woman.

What’s the relevance today?

There was a severing of connection to Mother Earth. The dynamics changed from protecting the earth to a conquest of it. When you don’t feel a deep connection to the earth and other sentient beings you don’t value them, they are a commodity to exploit.

We know we are at a critical time, Attenborough made that plainly clear in Extinction: the Facts. In the last 500 years we as a species have ruined our home on planet earth. If we don’t change our behaviour there won’t be a future for our children or grandchildren.

The Burning Times created our disconnection from nature. It is now time to reconnect, to honour the earth, the plants, animals, insects and to live in harmony. Indigenous people have done this for thousands of years, we can also do this. It starts with changing our beliefs and value system. This is individual internal work. Communities are made up of individuals, it starts with our own personal choices.

What are your choices?

Consumerism is driving a lot of the destruction. We can choose to do something different. Let’s not go back to “normal”, it was an unsustainable route. Let’s find a new path, a route to longevity and joy. We don’t need lots of stuff to be happy, we just accumulate useless junk. Everyone knows of people with lots of money that are unhappy. It’s time to stop and think, create a better way of being. Let’s not ruin the planet.

If you want to spend your money invest in your most valuable thing – yourself. You need to be part of the solution.

Heal your life. If you are committed to doing work on yourself join my free workshops. I believe we need to heal our wounds and reconnect to create a better future.

How will you make changes in your lifestyle?

If you don’t what will be the consequences?

If you do how will you feel?

What’s so special about Wild Camping?

Part 1 of 2

My friend doesn’t do ‘outdoors’, she likes to sleep in five-star hotels. “Why would you give up the comfort and the warmth of a nice bed to be outside?” she asks me. To be honest if you’ve never done it then, you won’t know. Wild camping isn’t for everyone. It is for those of us that like to feel free, alive and the vastness of the world. Wild camping allows you to connect – connect with yourself and the world on a deep level. The distractions and nonsense have been stripped away, no tv, no hair dryer, no smart phones (if you’re somewhere without a signal). It’s back to just you and nature.

Wild camping with friends is special, you don’t have to be alone. Finding like-minded individuals that enjoy nature and the inner glow you get when you’re a self-reliant team, means you can share your adventures. Stepping off the rat-race, away from the media, the noise and back to the calm of nature. You can slow down from the hub-bub of life. Leave the challenges and step back into the very simplicity of existence – finding or making a shelter, making food and keeping warm. What you choose to use to fulfil these basics will depend on where you go and the conditions. In the UK we have lush green countryside, which denotes the fact that we often need a waterproof shelter.

After cooking a simple meal on my stove out of the wind, at Cow Green Reservoir I stepped outside into the darkness. There’s no light pollution, not a house or street light for miles, just the darkness that wraps you in her blanket. Venus and Mars glowed large and pink, low in the sky near the horizon. When I looked up I could see the Milky Way. The stars were in three dimensions. The big familiar constellations we often see in the sky, vast numbers of medium-sized stars and everywhere millions and millions of tiny stars that you never usually see, making the night sky into clouds of tiny twinkling stars. This view was sublime, its complexity was awe-inspiring. Our little worries and grumbles disappear as our brains try to comprehend the scale and magnitude of our universe and comprehend our emotions as we investigate infinity. Nature puts things in perspective, we feel small and our problems feel small. Wild camping moments like these are why I go. I feel part of something bigger than myself that is infinitely beautiful. Quiet time for contemplation is so important. It helps me listen to who I am and find my way in this complex world.

If you like being outdoors, enjoy being independent and you’ve been camping at a campsite before, then make a small step and go camping without showers and the toilet. There’s a leave no trace principle, so take all litter home, yours and anyone else’s. Follow the rules and camp where it’s legal. The rewards are huge, you feel better, calmer and more relaxed. You’ll also be able to relax and enjoy some of the best views at sunrise and sunset. Do you want to feel truly free? Is it time for you to Go Wild? Ideas and advice can be found on the Wild Camping UK .

If you already go wild camping leave a comment and share why you love it.