Head in the Clouds? No better way to nature relate!
STORYTELLING
I learned a new word this week! PAREIDOLIA. We humans have two great needs in life: security and meaning. Our innate storytelling capability serves both. That´s why we experience pareidolia – that sensation of looking at something, like a cloud, and seeing a story about something that is not really there. Or IS it? Surely there is a heart in this photo. But, of course, that is not even what a heart looks like. So, what ARE we seeing in the clouds? Love? Perhaps…What do YOU see? ⠀

Love in the sky
WHAT IS STORYTELLING?
Our brains have evolved to help us process lots of information in one moment. Our perceptual systems process patterns. When we see something we do not recognise, our brains scroll through their databases and match what we are looking at with something recognisable to help us make sense of the world. As our brains tell us stories to make us feel secure, and part of that security is understanding the meaning we find in our day to day life. We become anchored through purpose.
STORYTELLING CAN HELP US RELATE TO NATURE
Looking at the clouds and telling stories suggested by our brain´s stored experiences seems the ultimate in nature related storytelling to me! Is there any more literal way that we can reinforce our identity as a part of nature than when we see our lives play out in the clouds? ⠀Our security, our meaning as a part of nature is showered upon us from the skies.
BEGINNER´S MIND
How about upping the wonder of wonder in your life with a few new questions about what is overhead? Embrace your inner Thoreau and have a chat with the clouds. Ask yourself not only WHAT you see in the clouds, ask yourself WHY you are seeing what you see. What does it tell you about your relationship with great big neighbourhood we all share, our biosphere? Is there security to be found in understanding that your vitality is interdependent with that of all forms of life? What new meaning would you find for your life if you looked at Earth from the perspective of the clouds?
RITUAL
We turn thoughts into actions through rituals – or literally acting out our values in the world. Here is a nature related ritual to help you on your journey identifying as a part of nature to build new awareness of the reality that nature is not OUT there, it is IN you. As you go, you will discover feelings of reduced anxiety, increased creativity and empathy – which slowly, but surely, translate into seamless eco friendly habits in all parts of your life. Healthy people generally are not self destructive. If you see the rest of the natural world as an extension of yourself, your self care habits extend to all the life that surrounds you.
How do you make the invisible, visible?
How do you make the invisible, visible? Last year I had the delight of attending a conference at The British Library called Women and Climate Change where Christina Figueres spoke. Figueres was the Executive Secretary of the UN framework Convention on Climate Change and was the chief negotiator at the conference which resulted in the groundbreaking Paris Climate Agreement.
Clouds Remind Us That the Biosphere is our Neighbourhood, Everyday
See the World from the Perspective of the Clouds
