What is it about this question that invokes in us an answering pull from deep within, ancient and visceral, that we cannot explain with our minds? It awakens a place inside of us that yearns to fullfill its reason for being ……connection. What does the language of “connection” feel like and look like? It speaks universally to all of us on planet Earth……it speaks to all of life and all have the ability to understand it. That does not mean we are all automatically fluent in it. The invitation is to become still in the mind so that we can “listen” with our “deepness” to what is being expressed, interpret this for ourselves and connect in our own, unique way. In order to have this conversation we need to understand the nature of the connection (pun intended) when the language is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE and the listening and speaking is done by the HEART.

We also need to ask ourselves where we, particularly, as human beings, fit into this intelligent, communicating eco-system that we call Nature or Mother Nature.

Throughout human history this planet that we call Earth or Mother Earth has been imbued with deeply feminine characteristics and energy. Many indigenous peoples attributed to this entity the title of “she”. So “she” become the Great Mother, whose womb gave birth to all “her” children, humans among them. All Mother Earth’s children had a place and role in a “circle of life” and were very fluent in this heart-language with Mother Earth. The circle was and remains to this day a very important symbol of seeding, germination, nurturance and unity. There is no hierarchy in this circle, only direction and movement, continual dynamic movement. There is an honouring of all the aspects of this circle of life, each with a unique purpose and gifts that make up and contribute to this life-sustaining system.

At some point in human history, however, with the growing emphasis on science and logic and movement away from indigenous wisdom, some of humanity started to see our relationship to the Earth, to Nature, in a very hierarchical way. This movement led to a step out of “unity” energy and into a “classification” system of “separating out” levels of “development” the top from the bottom, with the human as the pinnacle of this hierarchy and everything else falling in levels below. The philosophy developed that man was the pinnacle of creation, and everything below him was there to serve him. This, I believe, held a more masculine energy. The gap between science and spirituality grew and so did man’s separation from his unique place of belonging in this natural ecosystem. Slowly but surely, we lost our fluency to “speak” in this heart-language to Nature. We did not teach it to our children. So, with time, we lost this connection by letting this ability that we still inherently have, to atrophy.

In the years and decades that followed, I believe as a result of this loss of connection and belonging, we, the human race, did so much harm to our natural environment, to each other and in so doing, to ourselves. We forgot to listen with our hearts, to understand with our hearts and to connect through our hearts to the answers, to the solutions, to the responsibility that we hold in this circle of belonging in our “heart home”, the living organism that is our Planet Earth.

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We have reached a tipping point, I believe, when we can no longer ignore that this beautiful eco-system has become seriously compromised to such a degree that it is becoming very uncomfortable for the human race to ignore. The false hierarchy, which was never the truth in the first place, is crumbling. I think we have realized by now that we are an integral part of and not separate from Mother Nature. Our bodies are made of her elements of water, minerals, air and fire and as such our bodies resonate deeply with our natural environments. Our natural body cycles are her natural cycles. Our health or sickness is inextricably bound to her health or sickness. I believe we need to admit that we lost our way and take up the responsibility to find our way back to where we truly belong. We are returning to the “circle of life”. I believe we are moving through the atrophy that has caused our disconnection. We are returning home to our own “deepness”, to our own hearts, to our own natural rhythms so that we may once again “listen”, “understand” and “speak” from this place to Mother Nature and all who have their being in her using the language of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

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This is, I believe, a place of great potential and transformation, especially for the human race, as we are invited to go through a great paradigm shift of the mind in order to follow our hearts. All change is uncomfortable at first and it will take our minds much effort to let
our hearts take the lead on this one. Yet it is the only way forward from this point. We need to chose to survive, to thrive and then to flourish……all understanding, accepting and fulfilling our unique roles and honouring all others, human and other, in this place of
belonging in the “circle of life” that we call home, our beautiful living and breathing planet, Mother Earth.

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The invitation is to open our hearts and to engage with life……Mother Nature has always been ready to engage with us.

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Written by Zuzanka Jansen van Rensburg, Co-founder of Nature Within SA