His hands are in the soil once again. He's drawing in the sand with a stick in one hand, yet still holding a rock in the other. My older boy is off, laying on his tummy attempting to catch Water Striders from a nearby pond. A woodpecker sounds and they both look up in awe. 'Where is it?' they ask. We couldn't quite find her this time through the dense forest, but her sound echo's through. Little Dakota goes back to drawing in the sand until Dylan calls out "I caught a frog! I caught a frog!' Dakota jumps up and rushes toward his big brother, little rock still clasped in his hands. Dylan, in his ten years of life, has caught frogs thousands of times by now, yet each time it's still like his first. Dakota begs to hold it. A Dragonfly passes and they are off. My boys find nothing more magical then the world of nature.
They feel alive and connected and don't even know it. It's just natural to them. It's just life.
What do you feel most connected to...naturally?
I've been observing my two boys since the days they were born. Aside from their instant connection to me, Mother Nature has been the only other 'instant' connection they have had since birth. Their eyes light up as they wonder around at the beauty and awe in front of them. Their curiosity comes the most alive, the excitement in their voice when they 'discover' a new creature, their hands in the cool soil and bare feet in the cool grass is completely natural to them. Dancing in the rain is care free and exciting and there is nothing disgusting at all about picking up the slimiest or leggiest of all crawling creatures.
Honestly I've noticed this in all children, not just my own.
Yet daily life steps in and somehow draws us away from nature at such a young age. Games and gadgets, electronics, wasteful things to fill free time, excessive school work, our jobs, should's and shouldn'ts...the list goes on.
Sadly, it seems as the years pass, Mother Nature, the thing we really need the most, takes a back seat.
It's kind of ironic that the thing we really need the most for our mind and body is the thing that almost seems to be forgotten by so many. Some feel sluggish so they reach for yet another coffee, some feel too tired so they find themselves on the couch once again, consuming more screen time then sunshine time. Some can't cure their hunger as they fill themselves with more empty calories then the rich foods nature grows. It's a vicious cycle.
Children never lie about what they need. There is a reason they long to be outside and run barefoot in the grass. It's like they inherently feel that electrical charge the grass gives off that's absorbed through bare feet. Hmmm....can we say hello extra energy? There is a reason they love fruit and vegetables as babies...until other 'tastier', sugar laden foods step in taming that natural taste they are born with. There is a reason children find their hands in the soil...unknowingly that 'happy chemical' we all have...serotonin...gets released from bacteria in the soil. They simply enjoy it, it's fun and messy and makes them just 'happy'.
There is so much to nature. So much of nature is like us because in reality, we are a part of nature itself. Yet in such a materialistic world, we have been dragged so far away from our core.
Yes we live busy lives, yes we have responsibilities and jobs and to do's and should's and all that. Yet yes we can find time in our busy schedules to step out and connect with nature once again. If there is time to pick up the phone and mindlessly scroll, there is time to step out for 10 minutes and let the sunshine fall upon our bare skin, hear the bird song once again, stop to notice the flowers or the way the leaves blow in the breeze. A few minutes here and few minutes there, it adds up to something much more needed then what we have somehow been 'conditioned' to believe we need.
And another great thing...nature is free. How great is that?
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