Living In Harmony With Mother Earth

Photo by Jocelynne Flor

I believe that one of the most special things about being a human is the opportunity we have to witness and live within the beauty of Mother Nature. 

Throughout my life when I felt the most desperate and despairing, I found deep and true healing when I turned to Mother Nature. Today forest bathing, herbalism, cold water swims and more are some of my most cherished and used practices and tools. She was and is the nurturer and provider I was searching for. 

Mother Nature is abundant and bountiful in its expression and manifestation. It is the source of all creation and the divine essence of home. She offers everything to us, while expecting nothing in return. 

It's easy to see how modernization and industrialization has severed our relationship and connection to nature. As a result we live disconnected from her many powerful offerings. We’ve gone from living amongst her to living in concrete structures that separate us from her. From travelling through her and with her to travelling around, above, and beside her.

Photo by TruCreates

This has been and continues to be harmful to nature and also us as human beings. We can see this in so many ways including climate change and chronic environmental concerns as well as the drastic increase in lifestyle based diseases such as anxiety and depression. 

Living in harmony with Mother Earth is crucial for the survival of our planet and all living beings. It's not only a matter of preserving her, ourselves, and future generations but also uplifting and healing. It's therefore not only necessary, but revolutionary.

Taking Care of Our Environment 

I know I know I know. It's been said before but I believe it will always be worth saying again. Our behaviours, decisions, and actions matter when it comes to caring for the Earth. Our individual actions seem small, but when combined with the actions of others, they will have a significant impact. 

We can individually and collectively reduce our carbon footprint, our consumption of animal products, and use of single-use plastics. As well as work to conserve water and advocate for collective environmental action in order to positively contribute to a more sustainable world. 

If you’re anything like me, you could be taking strides to do all of this and still struggle with feeling helpless and angry at large corporations and governing bodies for not doing more. Something that helps me, especially as a Woman of Colour, is to follow and learn from Indigenous led environment organizations and collectives. 

Indigenous populations are fiercely and sincerely connected to Mother Earth. The ancestral relationship filled with care, respect, and love they have with the environment is one to inspire for the future and their insight and guidance is extremely powerful to follow in the present. 

My favourite account is Autumn Peltier, a young Canadian clean water and Indigenous rights activist from the Wiikwemkoong First Nation in Ontario. 

“Indigenous populations are fiercely and sincerely connected to Mother Earth. The ancestral relationship filled with care, respect, and love they have with the environment is one to inspire for the future and their insight and guidance is extremely powerful to follow in the present. ”

Photo by Jocelynne Flor

Using The Environment To Take Care of You

Accessing and connecting with nature is a beautiful way to work on your health and well being. This works especially well if you are frustrated by modern modalities and systems. I began connecting with Mother Nature and turning to her for help with my healing when I couldn’t find the answers I was searching for within western medicine. 

Spending time in nature can have a positive impact on our mental and physical health, and also help us appreciate the beauty and complexity of the natural world. 

Here are three practices that you can use to live more in harmony with mother nature:

1) Grounding

Earthing or grounding is scientifically proven to improve mental and physical health. It can reduce inflammation, pain, stress and increase energy, sleep quality, immune system functioning and more. When the body is grounded it is connected to the Earths’ natural electric charge which stabilises its physiology. 

This can be performed as easily and simply as walking or sitting (barefoot for extra benefits) in nature to restore bodily contact with Earth. I feel particularly rooted when I put my feet in the ocean up to my ankles. This way I get to work with both earth and water elements!

2) Herbal Medicine  

Using and integrating herbal medicine into your life is a beautiful way to live in harmony with mother nature and use her to heal. Whether it's through teas, tinctures, capsules or on hair and skin care products - paying attention and taking care of what you are putting in and on your body really matters. I recommend using products that are sourced and sold by companies and organizations that practice sustainability and earth conscious. 

3) Mindful Moments

If you don't have a lot of time or resources to allocate towards connecting with Mother Nature, or the idea seems overwhelming, consider starting with daily mindful moments. Spend just a few minutes by your window or in your yard/on your balcony activating your senses. Stare into the sunset, listen to the sounds of birds chirping, breathe in the smell of freshly-cut grass etc.

Another way to try this is by bringing in some element of nature into your home. It could be a plant (my room is filled with plants and it brings me so much joy) but also, flowers, pebbles, leaves, a bottle of sand could all work depending on what you feel most connected to. 

Choose something that evokes positive emotions and brings harmony to you and your home. Place it somewhere in your home where you can spend a moment with it if needed. 

I hope you find some of these reflections and practices helpful because as we like to say at The Villij, you deserve to be well. I’d love to hear some of your experiences with connecting with nature in the comments below.