Why You Need Nature More Than Ever

How Ecopsychology Can Empower You To Live In The Real World

We need nature more than ever before. You cannot live entirely in the abstract and thrive. Being online connects us, but abstract ideas created to help humanity sometimes hurt us when we become overly reliant upon them.

Reality gives us the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water that we need. And all these things are not just vital needs, they are actually YOU. The beauty and miracles of nature are here not just to create life and connect us in literal ways to every living soul on the planet, including wilderness forests and all creatures, but to allow you to know me and the rest of life in all of its fullness and wonder.

The onscreen world shoved into our faces each day reveals much conflict, hate and horror. Lately, we see invasion of privacy for profit and for political gain.

The abstract online ‘life’ promotes addiction, and a sense of inadequacy, as we all try to meet or exceed other players in our public portrayal of self. We also witness both environmental and cultural degradation.

But you are not your online presence. You are part of the living world.

The disconnect is happening because we have allowed some to have power who do not have a whole and abiding relationship with the natural world. It’s a serious, and lethal error, to think that power or wealth are of value in and of themselves.

Having a relationship is a reciprocal trust. Exploiting any living being, water or landscape without consciousness or conscience destroys that trust. Appreciation gives life value, if you don’t feel appreciation — or if you don’t receive it — your life loses meaning. This is why American values always lean toward equality and freedom. And we are at risk of losing these values when we begin to believe privilege and entitlement can be given without exercising these values.

It is we the people, not they, the government. To not have a say is to shirk from your own responsibility, and to think nothing you do makes a difference, leads to apathy and helplessness.

Those who think only about the economy forget it is created by us, for us. Those who believe in nationalism forget that we all are family. Those who are…