photo by ecstaticist

Since I have been living in Erie, Colorado I have noticed how much attention green living is getting. You would think California (where I used to live) would be all over the green lifestyle…and some places were. But you would usually have to go quite a ways to a place like the neighborhood Whole Foods.

My husband and I live in a very rural part of Colorado, and although we do have commercial places like Starbucks and Blockbuster (thank Heaven!), the closest Whole Foods we came by was driving by one from a distance while we traveling along the freeway.

But, the thing is , Colorado’s “normal” every day places have this kind of healthy offering. It is more mainstream to promote the canvas shopping bags, and the bamboo cutting boards, and a large variety of organic fruits and veggies.

And, I don’t know about you, but I can pick up on a higher consciousness when I am in certain places (CO) as opposed to other(CA). At the risk of getting all airy-fairy I can pick up a certain awareness that we, as citizens of the earth, should be more responsible for our present state of affairs now that I live here.

It made me curious how the cities in Colorado stacked up against the rest of the cities in the U.S. This is what I found on Efficient Energy Organization website:

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photo by Miradise

These past few years there have been more natural disasters than ever before. Floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes are killing at alarming rates all over the world. Those not killed are left displaced, feeling utterly lost and alone.

Some may say global warming is to blame. Green house gases cause the temperature to rise, the ocean is affected, weather patterns change, etc, etc. Some say global warming is a myth. I don’t agree. Instead I would say it is a symptom of a much deeper problem.

When you think about the world, how do you see it? Do you see individual things and individual people? Do you compare yourself to others and what they have? Does it make you want what they have and more?

Or do you see energy? Do you see that everything is moving and changing from moment to moment? Does that make you understand that holding on to something is not natural? Do you see yourself in other people? Does your compassionate nature come out when you see them struggle? When you are out in nature do you feel like it is your responsibility to protect it? Do you feel grateful at the sight of natural beauty, like it is a zen gift from the Universe?

When we ask ourselves questions it helps to uncover the way to make ourselves, and our world a better place. If we are disgusted when we learn that corporations dump gallons of toxic waste into our oceans everyday, it might make us think of what we may do on a much smaller scale. From there we are in a position to do something…something other than complain.

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photo by Shayan USA

Do we need to get angry to defend nature? Imagine you are an individual who has the utmost respect for nature-you recycle, take nature hikes, donate to Greenpeace, and work in your garden as a daily ritual. Your neighbor on the other hand has litter strewn about their front lawn, weeds are creeping from their side of the fence and mixing with your cherished rose vines. Pots with neglected water-starved plants adorn their entry way-reminiscent of a time that some attempt was made to beautify the entryway.

You feel a twinge of remorse for these misguided folks, but then the next moment you see someone stepping out the front door and dumping a dirty oily stew of some kind on one the hedges.
What is wrong with these people? You want to ignore their utter disrespect of God’s gifts, but your attention is always turned in the direction of all the injustices. If a child was even thought to have been mistreated you could call Child Welfare services. If a puppy were being beaten on the doorstop you could call animal control – but who is going to protect Mother Nature?

Environmentalists handle the crusades which touch the masses – the vanishing endangered species, global warming, the destruction of the rainforests, etc. – but what about the day to day disregard we witness in our neighborhoods. Ever see someone throw a cigarette or a soda out a car window? Remember that hopeless twinge you felt in your chest. Did it tick you off? Did you want to follow them? Did you ever want to leave a suggestive note on your neighbor’s front gate or in their mailbox?

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photo by gabriel_dcv

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about the human-nature connection. On that day I covered three ways in which we humans are like nature: Our Desire To Communicate, Our Vulnerability, and Our Inner Purity.

I wanted to go further with this topic because the idea behind it is why I started this blog in the first place. I honestly believe the more we observe the ways of nature and allow ourselves the time to get lost in her mystery, the more peace and happiness will show up in our lives.

This way of thinking may sound a little pollyanaish, and I own that. I can be a real cornball at times. But, again, I’m okay with all that. I look at it this way – I’m sacrificing a little of that sexy edginess for a softness that allows unseen forces to penetrate…

With that in mind I will concentrate today ’s post on the contemplation of a single thought, and how we humans are like nature: We Change.

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photo by, mitwalter

There has been a lot of not-so-pleasant talk about how the country (and the world) is headed for a recession. Personally, I do not like to get caught up in depressing theories (the world coming you an end in 2012?) or negative thinking in general.

That is why I was pleased to come across a recent article on a UK website, 10 Ways Recession Can Help the Environment, by Fion MacCloud. Now I’m still not convinced we are in a recession, but if we were, it is good to know there is always a silver lining to any situation.

I have taken his headings and recapped what Mr. MacCloud came up with:

1.” Reduction in Landfills”

When folks have less money, they buy less stuff, so less crap gets disposed of. The United States (according to MacCloud) produces 25% of this waste even though we make up 5% of the world’s population. Capitalism can produce greedy ways.

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photo by, Lucian Badea

Naturalists and humanitarians have a respect for nature and humans, respectively – and, in most cases (I suspect), for each other. I was contemplating on all the ways in which nature and humans are alike, and decided to put them in a list. It becomes more difficult to take things for granted when you expose your deeper thoughts, and put them on paper (or on a computer screen). In the end the process evokes a genuine gratitude.

Once I started writing, more thoughts came. I could write a series of books on this subject. So below is a partial list (more to come) of the human-nature connection that I am sincerely grateful for:

Our Desire To Communicate

I read an article in the BBC magazine, Wildlife, about how certain plants communicate. It was discovered after a bit of observation that some plants (including strawberries and clover), communicate through a vegetable-based phone line. This living cable is created from these plants and grows and spreads over the ground in a neighborhood network. Messages can be spread about enemies in their mist. Their friends and relatives will be warned about intrusive insects, caterpillars, etc. – a natural alarm system at work.

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photo by, Simon T

Linus Pauling was an extraordinary man – his dualistic expression was admired by those who knew him. He was enthusiastic yet humble, simple and complex, and a gentle rebel.

Pauling was also known as a force of nature. A physicist/chemist/biologist, this brilliant scientist was not content with his research into the nature of the chemical bond (for which he won his first Nobel Prize in 1954).

Pauling then became fascinated in the movement of molecules. He was able to concoct enough experiments to reach the achievement of developing a substitute to blood plasma and then of understanding the living cell. Pretty heavy stuff…

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photo by, Old Shoe Woman

I found this poem on the site, Spirit of Trees.

I thought it was worth sharing, and hope you will check out this worthwhile website from which it came. Spirit of Trees is an organization that has a respect for nature that I appreciate – I am confident you will, as well…

Breath

by J. Daniel Beaudry

Tree, gather up my thoughts
like the clouds in your branches.
Draw up my soul
like the waters in your root.



In the arteries of your trunk
bring me together.
Through your leaves
breathe out the sky.

Dan Beaudry received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. At the graduate level he studied the newly emerging field of eco-poetics, a field that strives to use language in a way that accurately, honestly, and spiritually resonates with nature. Several of his poems have been published and the one appearing on this website, “Earth Breath,” first appeared in Nature in Legend and Story. Dan Beaudry is finishing his certification to teach high school English and lives in the countryside outside Albany. Email: beaudryj@strose.edu


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Kim McGinnis, Be Like Nature

photo by, greenz4u

Unless you have been living in a bubble for the past few years, most of you are aware of the threats of Global Warming. Here’s a quick review for those of you that were sleeping:

The temperature of the earth continues to rise due to certain gases trapped in the earth’s atmosphere. The main culprit of the various notorious gases is CO2.

CO2 concentration comes from the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

According to Lester R. Brown, Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth, “Each year, more than 6 billion tons of carbon are released into the atmosphere as fossil fuels are burned. Estimates of the net release of carbon from deforestation vary widely, but they center on 1.5 billion tons per year.”

This is a huge and important issue (unless you are George W. Bush or opposed to science). The subject of global warming is complicated to say the least, but I felt compelled to dig into just sliver of this freshly baked dish.

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