“Rewild Yourself”
This week I’ve been reading a book called Rewild Yourself: 23 Spellbinding Ways to Make Nature More Visible. It’s by a British writer I enjoy reading named Simon Barnes. The book begins with these disturbing words: “We’re not just losing the wild world. We’re forgetting it. We’re no longer noticing it. We’ve lost the habit of looking and seeing and listening and hearing. We’re beginning to think it’s not really our business. We’re beginning to act as if it’s not there anymore.”
I find these words to be alarming, sad, and discouraging. Furthermore, I fear these words have the ring of truth to them. So many people these days are largely disconnected from nature. It plays only a small role, if any, in their lives. For me this is disheartening. I firmly believe that nature is meant to play a much larger role. Likewise, I’m convinced that there are serious repercussions for failing to give nature our careful attention.
Spiritually, our snubbing of nature causes us to miss out on one of God’s primary sources of revelation. Both the heavens and the earth offer witness to their Maker’s love, mercy and goodness. They supplement the Scripture’s witness to God’s majesty and glory. As spiritual beings our understanding of God will be truncated if we fail to give nature our careful attention.
Emotionally, our failure to notice nature will rob us of much joy and peace. Numerous studies have confirmed that exposure to nature has many emotional benefits. Our very health, emotional and physical, is connected to our exposure to the natural world. We literally hurt ourselves when we fail to connect with nature on a regular basis while we reap benefits when we do.
I would also argue that when we neglect nature we are less likely to be good stewards of God’s Creation. When we connect with nature we tend to love it. When we love something we are strongly inclined to care for it. Could our disconnection from nature be one of the underlying causes of the current environmental crisis? I suspect so.
We, and the world itself, would be better off if we gave nature the consideration it deserves day by day, season after season. But how do we do that? In Rewild Yourself Simon Barnes offers many suggestions. He urges us to be more intentional about being a part of nature and observing all it has to offer. He suggests that we get a good pair of binoculars and take a closer look at nature. Barnes believes we are missing much because we are not deliberately attempting to see what is around us. He encourages us to look for signs of wildlife around us, for tracks, scat, trails. We are likewise encouraged to listen more carefully for the sounds of nature. If we only “look” at nature we will miss out on so much. We need to put our ears to good use too. Barnes thinks we would all benefit from learning to identify birds by their songs alone.
Learning the names of various species, fauna and flora, is also strongly encouraged. As Barnes points out, when we know the names of others we automatically enter a more personal relationship. This is true for people; it is true for plants and animals too. A similar suggestion is purchasing field guides or books on nature so that we can learn more about the subjects we see and hear. Ideally, all of us should have a nature library.
There are many ways we can “rewild” ourselves and many good reasons for doing so. Spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally we will benefit from paying more attention to nature. Simon Barnes would suggests now would be a good time to start. I couldn’t agree more.
–Chuck