Stop and think
When was the last time you stopped to think, and I mean REALLY stopped to think, that every single thing you do, including breathing, has an impact on the planet? And I mean everything. Every breath you take, every toilet you flush, every bite of food you eat, every mile you drive, every product you buy, every item of clothing you purchase, every straw you use or tissue you blow your nose with, comes with a cost, an impact on the earth and its resources and there are no exceptions. If this is something you think about from time to time, congratulations on being on a path to living with connection – to Mother Earth, to all her bounty and to all citizens of the planet. Truth be told, once you realize that what you do matters, you get to choose how gently or harshly you walk on this earth. You get to decide if you are going to show up every day with compassion and kindness because you have connected. You are dialed in. You are living mindfully. You get to decide how to show up in the world.
Making the connection
But this begs the question: connection to what? Connection to your toilet paper? Connection to your bicycle or your local farmers market? Connection to the person who made your clothes or your purse or your wallet or your shoes? D – all of the above. But in order to actively work on the connection thing and figure out why it matters, all of us must make a deeper cut. I believe that for all of us to “connect” and stay connected and ALL that that implies, it’s got to start with connecting to or reconnecting to nature.
Noticing the world around us
Connecting with nature makes everything that you read about, think about, or already know – real. If you are connected to nature or Mother Earth and all her bounty, you will notice when a river dries up or know when the wildflowers or cacti are in bloom, you will notice the quail and the coyotes and the hawks that surround us, and you will stop dead in your tracks at the sound of a songbird. You will know that buffelgrass is taking over your neighborhood or that you can’t walk or drive 10 yards without a plastic bag flying in your face or adorning the trees – because you are connected.
Consciously connecting
And that deep connection to nature will help you make the connections to so much more. You will make the connection between a $5 tee shirt and the person who made it. You will know that people who make $5 tee shirts are most likely modern-day slaves, working in dangerous, filthy and harmful working conditions. You will feel connection with them and probably pass on that $5 tee shirt. When you live a life of conscious connection, you are observant. And you want to fight like hell to keep making sure that the Nature you are connecting to is still around for your life and for future generations, that you understand that Nature is the very place from which all of us come. And you will always want to protect it and all the citizens sharing this planet with you.
From about the age of five, Gina has been on the path of being a disruptor for good. A dreamer at heart, Gina is madly and passionately in love with this great planet of ours and is tireless in her efforts to preserve it.