“Connecting” with Nature is Silly

To separate ourselves from spaceship Earth is just an unintended outcome of consumerism.

I see and hear it all the time, “I’m off to connect with nature” or some derivation of that. Nonsense. Let me explain.

Photo by Boxed Water Is Better on Unsplash

First, the self-help hyper-productivity culture encourages a superficial narrative on connecting with nature. It almost feels like a fetish. The self-help industry is a toxic hamster wheel that doesn’t want you to leave and it relies on feelings rather than outcomes, just like pornography.

We are as natural as any other organism on the planet. To separate ourselves from spaceship Earth is just an unintended outcome of consumerism.

More importantly, I think our “connecting with nature” fetish is also a byproduct of how clumsy the English language is. English to me has always been a business or trade language, a language to bridge other languages with concessions, it therefore lacks depth and refinement.

Photo by Damir Spanic on Unsplash

Combine capitalism and English’s clumsiness, it breeds a superficial understanding of relationships between emotions and nature.

Let me propose a solution. We should “stretch” our connection with nature and assume our connection is always present. Like how we stretch our body, stretching allows us to feel the muscles, joints and the painful knots.

“Stretching” nicely metaphors the practices of yama yoga, which emphasizes our connection to the other. Yoga in Sanskrit is defined as a state of union, but it’s the practice and realization of an eternally present union.

So next time you decide to “connect” with nature, remember you are always connected so just stretch and be free.

Word count: 245
Twitter: @bhavprajapati

52 | 250 (fifty two | two fifty), a collection of random, recurring, ruminations written with patience for depth and brevity. Each post is written over the course of a week in 250 words or less as a personal exercise of freedom and focus in a time of placid tumult and despair.