How is it that we are so connected yet so alone?
Somewhere on route to the 21st century we ceased to be genuinely connected. Friends are but a click away, yet there is no relationship.
From our earliest education through to the height of our careers it always seems to be about “us”, but never “us” as we 
are. Maybe it is others that choose to criticize us at work or play, inviting us to improve, or ourselves as we celebrate the latest manifestations of our material estate in social media.
Busy busy busy
It all keeps us very busy. Busy being me, busy doing stuff. Busy seek tangible rewards or recognition immediately.
And as a generation we are exhausted – constantly at work, either in our professional capacity or working at nurturing our virtual profile. We have lost the time to breathe. What breath we have is that shallow one which is constrained by the tyranny of task.
We need to step out of the cell. But there is no door.
We are always looking outwards. To find ourselves once more is no less of a task than gaining academic qualification. Yet we are already here.
Habit has taught us to ignore our-self. Quite ironic really given How much time we spend talking about ourselves online.
How might we facilitate shift?
When we stand in nature, we are invited to step through a portal, back into the moment. Nature is forever in the moment. Whether the majesty of forest or the presence of the horse. In that moment, there is wellbeing, whether the proven calming release of cortisol in the forest, or the gentle embrace of oxytocin released from kindness’s touch.
Nature holds a space that is without agenda, without a call to action. She accepts us as we are, not as we might become, not as a reflection of importance.
The challenge is ours. Take our agenda and our objectives and lose the world around us to the demands of our project. Or we accept the moment, and recognise a greater existence, a merging of energies in one space.
In such moments we might catch a glimpse of something greater, something we are just a part of. A reconnection not just to ourselves but to a community of existence. And so as we step through the portal we begin to acknowledge a diversity of life. Traditional societies held a deep respect for nature, they understood the necessity of maintaining balance and respecting all.
Nature does not need to be improved, she is perfect. She is not a project. And neither are we. Yet we are happy to see ourselves as flawed.
It is not just about us. It is about what we are part of.
