Showing posts with label reconnecting with nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reconnecting with nature. Show all posts

Mar 22, 2013

Grandpa's Fishing Tale





The joy of being grandpa. Sharing with your granddaughter the thrill of fishing.
Knowing she will someday share this gift with her children and grand children. The connection this creates between caring, loving humans has existed forever. We all want to share in someway guaranting this connection continues. All we have is all that was....Cherish every moment.  ~ Papa Ed

Sep 13, 2012

Back To Nature: The Power of Timeless Wanders



            A connection to nature is one of the most precious gifts our children have. Not only does time close to the earth nourish their physical body, but also their mind and soul. We all have the ability to re-connect children with nature, regardless of our outdoors knowledge or experience.

            A powerful and simple tool available to us all is the timeless wander. This experience is usually overlooked because it runs counter to one of modern society’s strongest assumptions: Children are buckets that must be filled. Time where children are not amassing information, facts and knowledge is usually seen as wasted. 

Aug 16, 2012

A Conversation With Author Simon Paul Harrison

We recently had the opportunity to interview Simon Paul Harrison. Simon is the author of The Truly Alive Child ~ For Those Who Seek A Grander Vision For Our Children.

Stacy and Carol: First of all what was your childhood like?

Simon:Like everyone else, I always considered my childhood normal. It’s not till weget older and have some perspective, do we discover that none of us have a“normal” childhood. I was quite happy really, playing soccer, riding my bike.We had fields behind our house where we would build shelters and play games. Wewere always out and about. I had a lot of freedom that seems to havedisappeared for children very rapidly.

Stacy and Carol: What would you have liked to have asked your parents to change, stop 
or start todo with you while you were achild?
Simon: Great question! This one really made methink. There’s an awful lot of things I would have answered at the time of mychildhood, but now looking back on them, they were all wonderful experiences.For example, we lost part of our pocket money if we left lights on, which was areal drag at the time. But looking back on it now, it was a great lesson inenergy conservation! I’m very happy in my life, so it’s hard to say thatsomething held me back. I think I was allowed to watch too much television, butboth my parents worked really hard to pay the bills, so I can’t reallycriticize them. But, if I have to pick something,  it would have beennice, looking back, to have spent less time in front of a television.

Stacy and Carol: What made you choose the John Lennon quote at the start ofyour book? 
Simon: Because it’s wonderfully simple and tothe point! I appreciate simplicity.

Stacy and Carol:  At what age did yourmind think of this concept you write about? Being truly alive and conscious ofthe role you have as a parent?
Simon:  Itreally began to emerge when I was an elementary school teacher in England, somid-twenties. In many ways I was amazed how damaging huge parts of theeducation system were to children. Most of all, arbitrary destinations werechased after without ever questioning them, which I found to be very worrying.The ability to question everything we create is fundamental. Things are everchanging and the ability to move with the flow of life is crucial foreverybody’s peace and joy. 

Jul 19, 2012

Why a Deep Connection to Nature is so Vital For our Children

Guest article by Simon Paul Harrison




In a world of cell phones, computers and technology, our children have become increasingly separated from nature. With every step away from the earth a real sense of identity has been lost. Peace, joy, creativity, and a true sense of connection to all life have been eroded. In the place of these have risen fear, greed and violence. Away from nature, children have forgotten who they really are.

If we are to support our children in regaining what we know deep in our hearts is their birthright, to walk as one with life, we must start by re-connecting them with nature.

There are numerous studies showing that time in nature is good for our physical health, but that is not the full extent of the benefit. Arguably far more powerful is the connection with the flow of life that is nourished. With positive experiences close to nature, children no longer see themselves as separate individuals, all fighting against one another for their survival. They realize they are as connected to the trees as they are to their legs, as much a part of the oceans as their hair is to them. This is undoubtedly life changing, and it’s so wonderfully simple!

Nature is such a miraculous teacher for our children because she expects nothing from them. The river doesn’t expect them to think certain thoughts. The plants don’t expect them to say certain words. The mountains don’t expect them to act a certain way. And so nature reminds our children that they have always been free.

This is easy to forget because children become so rapidly heavy and burdened by all the expectations they take on from modern society. We force them to carry hundreds of beliefs, perceptions and judgments around with them that they forget their true, peaceful, connected nature. In particular we educate children to live the illusions that they must chase happiness, run after success, and compete against everything and everyone.

But when we support our children in stepping gently on the earth they find they can let go of all those illusions and plug themselves back in to the flow of life. Without all those expectations a shadow is lifted and they remember who they really are. There’s nothing to chase, nothing to run after, nothing to outcompete. They are perfect. Here, and now. Nature expects nothing from children, and so she gives everything.

We tend to think that the solutions to the challenges we have created for our children are terribly complicated. That it must require special technology, new drugs, different research, or more information. But time and again we see what simply being allowed to play in nature does for children. Through my work I’ve had the privilege of supporting thousands of children on the path to re-connecting with nature and I’ve seen the same things happen over and over again. Children know deep down who they are. They know they are peaceful, joyful, creative and deeply connected. That seed of re-connection is nourished perfectly by nature, and when it is, the blossoming of children is one of the most beautiful experiences to witness.

As adults we can all support this re-connection right now. Children don’t need the names of plants or facts about animals. They just need to be allowed to play, without the pressure of society wondering if their activity will help them get ahead, be successful, or help them pass exams. Their unburdened play in nature is already bringing them the ultimate success: The experience of walking as one with life. Peace, joy and creativity are with them every step of the way.

Simon Paul Harrison is the author of The Truly Alive Child and the founder of Wild Earth’s Children. For more information, free resources and to order your copy of the book, go to www.simonpaulharrison.com


Author Bio

Simon Paul Harrison is the author of The Truly Alive Child, a visionary and life-changing book, and the founder and director of Wild Earth's Children, a non-profit dedicated to re-connecting people to nature.

Simon began working with children as an elementary school teacher in his native England. Here the seeds were planted to seek a way to connect children with the flow of life and return children to experiences of deep peace and joy.

After a number of years he came to America to learn from world renowned nature teacher Tom Brown Jr. Simon fell in love with the natural world and never looked back. He has taught people how to re-connect with nature and a deeper sense of peace, joy and creativity all over North America, including Alaska, New England, and the Cree Nation in Quebec.

Simon felt the calling of his vision urging him westwards where he founded Wild Earth’s Children and wrote The Truly Alive Child. He lives in Colorado with his wife Katherine