A Guide to Living by the Wheel of the Year
Healer and author Dina Saalisi shares the power of connecting to the rhythms of life and the ...
Flo Maderebner/Pexels
People now spend over 90 percent of their time indoors and an average of 11 hours a day on a device, says Micah Mortali, author of Rewilding: Meditations, Practices, and Skills for Awakening in Nature and the founder of Kripalu School for Mindful Outdoor Leadership. He’s been leading wilderness retreats for over 20 years and worries that fewer and fewer people have a connection with nature. In addition, the more time we spend on electronic devices, the more blind we become to the places where we live—a phenomenon known as “place blindness.”
“If you don’t love the land, you won’t protect it,” Mortali asserts. “And then we’ll lose it.”
He stresses that the earth is a living system and our wellbeing is closely tied to the health of the planet. As he points out: You are the planet. “The air you’re breathing was on the other side of the planet a few days ago; you’re inhaling oxygen that the trees exhale. The molecules of your body are the same molecules of the planet: oxygen, carbon, water. If there’s pollution on the planet, it’s in you too.” Everything is interconnected; there’s no separation.
Now more than ever, with the acceleration of global warming and climate change, there’s an awareness—and for many a sense of urgency—to shed any blinders and halt the change. “We know the statistics on climate change. And we’re beginning to see that we can’t continue at this pace.”
On some level, people know that our current lifestyle isn’t conducive to optimal wellness for individuals, the species, or the planet. “Human beings didn’t evolve to sit at a desk for eight hours a day slouching over a computer screen,” Mortali asserts. In buildings and windowless offices with fluorescent lights, we’re removed from our natural habitat.
Not surprisingly, people are stressed. What everyone is really hungry for, Mortali says, “is to feel alive, to feel good.” And that’s what not succumbing to place blindness is all about.
Spending time outdoors reminds us that we’re part of the natural world—the larger cosmos—and dependent upon it. Studies show that being in nature improves mood and sleep, accelerates healing, increases the ability to focus, and boosts the immune system.
[Read: “Ecotherapy: Nature Is Good Medicine.”]
And just as you can feel the presence of a forest when you’re in it, the forest can also feel your presence, says Mortali. And so part of maintaining your vision of place is to ask: “How can you make the earth healthier by your presence instead of the other way around?”
Not seeing the forest or the trees? Schedule in time to shatter your schedule and start rewilding yourself.
Get this article and many more delivered straight to your inbox weekly.