Listening To Nature - #ecotrain #adsactly

Nature has always spoken to me, ever since I was a child.

One of my earliest memories of listening to nature communicate with me was when I sat outside on the back door step with an umbrella in the rain, just so I could listen to the raindrops above my head on the umbrella. I would have been about 4 years old at the time.

To this day, I still love to sit outside in the rain under my gazebo just so I can listen to the soothing sounds of the rain. I even have an app on my tablet which plays different rain sounds for when I need to relax or I can’t sleep!

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I remember going through a particularly tough time as a young teen and I would head off to the riverside to escape from the upset.

There was a small bridge hidden in the hedgerows and I would sit on the steps surrounded by the bushes and listen to the river flowing and cry until the hurt went away. I felt safe. I felt as though nature was consoling me. I felt as though I was being listened to and not being judged.

(Image taken by me, Nikon D5300)

I love to spend time in woodland surrounded by trees and birds, walking peacefully with my dogs with nobody else around.

I feel safe, even though I perhaps shouldn’t do; being a woman on my own in the middle of nowhere! But I do feel safe. I feel at peace. I love to listen to the trees talking to each other in the wind and the birds singing their songs to the world without asking for anything in return other than respect.

(Taken by me Nikon D5300)

This is a crazy way to think about nature, but since @wwf pointed me in the direction of a book called ‘A language older than words’ by Derrick Jensen, I have been transported back in time to a time when these things didn’t seem crazy to me. I had forgotten about these moments until reading a particular passage in the book where the author writes of speaking to the stars.

To this day, nature is a huge part of my life. I live in the woods and prefer to be surrounded by animals and wildlife than humans. I know that this life is all about relationships, but I truly prefer my relationships with non-human entities to human ones. I guess this is something I still need to work on.

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I am learning so much at this time in my life.

You would think at almost 40, I would know the way the world works by now. But we are brought up with lies and only learn the truth if we question everything we have ever been taught. The more I learn, the less I know to be true.

My instincts tell me to bury my head in the sand and hide away from the responsibility I am waking up to, but now that I am awake to these truths, I cannot ignore them. One thing I know for certain is that the Earth deserves respect and I can start by having my say and living my truth. We must all learn to listen to nature again, no matter how crazy it sounds!

Nature is something that we should all cherish and respect. I hope to one day be able to live off the land and I would like to be able to say that I nurtured it and left it in a better way than I found it.

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If we all respect the land and appreciate what it offers us and nourish the land in return as thanks, perhaps we can even reverse the damage we have done so far. Wouldn’t that be amazing…

Thank you for reading.

Much love, @beautifulbullies xx

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