Lately, I cannot shake the feeling that nature is mirroring what is happening within humanity.
I was talking with a friend recently, and we acknowledged that even with our mindfulness practices, our nervous systems are still being triggered. We feel overwhelmed and scattered at the same time.
But is it any wonder?
If you are human, how could you not be affected by what is happening around us? We may not be experiencing every tragedy personally, but we are exposed to the world’s fear, grief, and anger every day. We feel it in our bodies, whether we realize it or not.
The surface is disturbed. Ripples collide from every direction — the news, the violence, the chaos of the world hitting us all at once.
Wave after wave. Even with mindfulness practices, our nervous systems are being triggered. We feel overwhelmed and scattered at the same time.
Then a shaman in Ecuador says: “Stop allowing things to affect you so easily.” The water begins to slow.
“Remain present and appreciate life and all its blessings.” A single pulse. The present is a gift.
What if nothing exists entirely separately? The ripples reach outward — roots beneath the surface, connecting everything.
I recently returned from spending a week with the Tsáchila people in Ecuador. One shaman told me that I need to stop allowing things to affect me so easily.
Another spoke about how everything around us is constantly changing. Things can get worse, but they can also get better. His advice was to remain present and appreciate life and all its blessings.
Honestly, I try to do this every day.
I have learned that I cannot control the past or the future. The present truly is a gift. What I choose to do with this moment is one of the few powers that belongs completely to me.
And so, I thank God for the gift of this moment, this day, and this life.
In the larger picture, I believe I can move through life noticing the darkness without dwelling in it. I try to keep the vibration of love alive, even in the smallest encounters, including the people I pass as I walk down the street.
Still, when I look at what is happening in nature, I wonder if there is a connection.
Perhaps not in a way science could easily measure, but in the sense that nothing exists entirely separately. Human beings are part of nature, not outside of it. When we live out of balance, exploit the earth, harm one another and remain in a constant state of fear and aggression, how could that not affect the larger world in some way?
I do not believe Mother Nature is punishing us, but maybe she is revealing something.
Humanity feels profoundly out of balance right now. Is it so strange to wonder whether the natural world might reflect that imbalance?
What do you think? Do you sense a connection too, or am I searching for meaning in events that are simply part of nature’s unpredictability?