Our Earth is Calling Us Home

Every time I go on a routine morning walk with my husband and our pup, or go outside for my usual long-distance run on the trails or on the road, or each time I pause outside in the middle of the day to take in the sunshine or even to notice the misty and gloomy horizon, I find myself in awe of nature all around me, feeling so deeply grateful. 

The truth is, we are part of the natural world, and sometimes we may forget this.

Notice the phrase: “I like being in nature.” We have created a boundary that separates us from the natural world, when we really are part of it.

 I notice the different energies in different spaces- cities, suburban towns, quiet farm communities, rural spaces, and the wilderness. I notice my own energy in these spaces, and how I feel in my body. I notice my own body, my mind, my breath, where my attention goes, and I am reminded that I AM nature. I am a living organism amongst other living organisms. I get to notice and observe. I get to feel and sense. I am interconnected with everything and everyone and being immersed in spaces that feel more untouched by humans, I am more in tune with the world’s natural rhythm, including my own. 

Lately, I’ve been inspired to be in spaces where others are just as touched and inspired by our world at the more-than-human level. So many of us are inspired by our natural world and truly feel the healing energy of presence with nature. What has been keeping me in this space of curiosity is the passing of our beloved Jane Goodall. She has been on forefront of my mind for the past few months because my husband and I planned to attend her speaking event at UCLA, two days after she left this human world. Even though I did not get to see her, I think about her impact, what she shared, and what she embodied in her life. What stays with me is her hope for the world.

I resonate with hope. I have so much hope for myself, for my family, my friends, the individuals I work deeply with in psychotherapy, children, elders, people I see walking the street, people I come across online, our countries, animals, plants, land, oceans, the skies…

Sometimes, during a trail run, I reach the top of a mountain in my childhood hometown and look down at the freeway below I can see cars on the freeway— moving along like tiny ants. I focus in on a passing vehicle, and whisper to myself, “I hope the person inside that car is having a good day.” “Be safe out there.”

 Hope is within me and it is necessary for me to feel alive. 

I notice the devastation within our planet— the destruction and damage including the wars, the horrors, pollution, unspeakable acts toward humans, animals, land, our oceans. And sometimes, it is all I hear and see around me through media, conversations, and even in real time in front of me.

 I feel deeply sensitive towards the animals that die daily on the road, crossing the street—SURVIVING. I am saddened by the label they get, “Road Kill.” No. These animals are important. They have lives and families. They are part of us. They are us. 

Sometimes, I find myself questioning my own hope. I wonder, is this hope naive? Or maybe that it means I am blinding myself to what the world really is? Recently, reading and hearing Jane’s wisdom on hope reminded me that hope is one of the most important things to hold.

I’ve noticed how important it is to hold hope more than ever. Hope isn’t “coping.” It isn’t pretending. Hope is real, and hope is what creates action. It is what moves us forward to engage with the world with deep respect and kindness. It is what drives us to be better — to help change the world for the good of the world.

It isn’t just that we need the planet. It’s that the planet needs us. And it needs us NOW, more than ever. The world is interconnected, and everything within this planet is not just surviving on its own, but because of everything around working harmoniously. Everything and everyone is receiving feedback, and this is what creates sustainability. We need to remember that we are nature. We are part of this planet, and everything we do affects it.

As the beautiful Jane Goodall said, “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” I truly believe that a small act can make a huge difference. Jane said that we have it all wrong — that it isn’t “think globally, act locally,” but that acting locally is what makes that global impact. I believe in both, and during this time, when we are FLOODED by so much, I truly think we need to think locally, and that can begin in the mind. In our dreams, in our fantasies, in our observations, in our own truths. When we do this courageously and own ourselves and our truth, we have more freedom inside, and we become more grounded. Literally into this earth. More natural. We also will discover that part of our innate nature is meant to help, to heal, to balance, and to protect.

Gosh. In this moment, I am flooded by so much. The interconnectedness of everything — colonization, nature, the human psyche, the modern world, the fact that even if we are stuck in the rut and living someone else’s dream — that so many of us are trying our best, and doing so, so much. I am struck by the grief of it all. I am also, to be honest, so overwhelmed with so many offerings I’ve been seeing online, even if they are all positive. Grateful for it all, and it is all so much for my one system to take in!

Our planet NEEDS us. We are healers. We are nature. Our planet needs our presence, not our perfection. We have it within us, and we can rediscover it. Part of why I do this work as a therapist, among many reasons,  is to support the individual, with the HOPE that this work ripples outward into the world. When I show up as authentically as I can in the therapy space, and my clients meet themselves with that same authenticity, something powerful happens. They begin to see the greatness that already exists within them — their innate potential, their natural capacity to heal and to help. 

You are part of this earth. You are nature.

The earth is calling me to be on its side. To not divide myself from it. To be it. To connect. To be human. And I feel for everyone — those struggling to make ends meet, those of us surviving, those who cannot even begin to think about what sustainability even means. But don’t sell yourself short. Your best doesn’t need to be stripping yourself of everything non-eco-friendly or changing your life drastically. It can begin within your own inner ecology.

Create room inside yourself. Own your truths. Release the burdens you’ve been carrying. Become more and more yourself. This, too, is part of healing the world. Even this idea, “I want to make a difference, and I CAN,” even this thought and this feeling of hope, is a lot. “I am CAPABLE”. “I BELONG.”  Discover what self empowerment looks like for you. When we reconnect with ourselves, we reconnect with our earth, and we are reminded that we are not separate. Go outside and observe, through your own eyes.

BREATH. Breath in our earth and exhale your truth. I truly believe that the truth sets you free. 

 DREAM. Dreaming and fantasizing go a long way. Let it carry you. Trust yourself. Trust your innate wisdom. Trust that the planet has your back when you have its back.

I am feeling all the grief as I come to the end of this writing and I also feel inspired and courageous.

-Imuri