| EcoPsychology |
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Do you have a nourishing, stabilizing relationship with the more-than-human world through animal friends,
hiking, camping, birdwatching, farming, hunting, photography or other activities that bring you close to
nature? As your therapist, Maggie would encourage you to recognize the natural world's importance in
making you a whole and happy person. Humans today have the same genetic structure as our ancient
ancestors had when our species first emerged on this earth. Yet life today is nothing like it was when the first
people roamed the land in small family groups and took their living directly from what they found in nature.
People were not made to be separate from nature, but embedded in it, as much as a cactus is part of the desert
or a rhododendron of a coastal redwood forest. And in fact, we are reminded by recent increases in extreme
weather that our lives still depend on the natural world.
In a time when nature is receding and becoming less healthy, our bodies feel the disturbance. We may feel
anxious or insecure, and not know why. We may sense that something is missing, and something is: the
diversity of species with whom we once shared this planet. How we come to terms with the degradation of our
biosphere greatly influences our capacity for joy and fulfillment.
hiking, camping, birdwatching, farming, hunting, photography or other activities that bring you close to
nature? As your therapist, Maggie would encourage you to recognize the natural world's importance in
making you a whole and happy person. Humans today have the same genetic structure as our ancient
ancestors had when our species first emerged on this earth. Yet life today is nothing like it was when the first
people roamed the land in small family groups and took their living directly from what they found in nature.
People were not made to be separate from nature, but embedded in it, as much as a cactus is part of the desert
or a rhododendron of a coastal redwood forest. And in fact, we are reminded by recent increases in extreme
weather that our lives still depend on the natural world.
In a time when nature is receding and becoming less healthy, our bodies feel the disturbance. We may feel
anxious or insecure, and not know why. We may sense that something is missing, and something is: the
diversity of species with whom we once shared this planet. How we come to terms with the degradation of our
biosphere greatly influences our capacity for joy and fulfillment.