Joyful Belonging to the Natural World

Recently, I was deeply inspired by a friend and teacher who joyfully spoke of going home to his community…

“I look forward to being with our two old ponderosa friends at the front of our house, seeing the stand of adolescent aspens that were planted years ago, and the circle of lupine friends around the house.”

When we perceive ourselves connected to community, we experience the joy of belonging, or social well-being. Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, a renowned Positive Psychologist, comments, “Socializing is more positive than being alone; that’s why meetings are so popular. People don’t like being alone.”

To overcome loneliness and satiate our desire for community, how often do we look to the natural world? What does it mean to be in communion with the plants, trees, and minerals? Do we have the courage to speak to the forest or listen to a rock?

If we allow ourselves to break from the mythos of an inanimate world, we may reclaim the joy of our most fundamental sense of community.  To make this shift we need to expand outdoor recreation to include embracing time for a humble stillness that allows us to feel our belonging in the natural world.

Rejoicing in mother earth,
Ryan