Think for a moment of all that you love and appreciate in your life. Now imagine how you would feel if it were taken from you. You would do something about it, wouldn’t you? This is a natural reaction. People protect what they love.
It is commonly agreed that, given the crisis our planet is facing, the key to sustainably protecting the rapidly declining natural world in the long term lies in a change in our behaviour. However, when you hear about how many species are becoming extinct, how the rain forests are being cut down, and how climate change is going to affect the whole planet, do you feel inspired to take action? If anything, thinking about all of these problems alone makes me feel like hiding away and distancing myself from them.
And who knows if we will save the planet? I am not aiming to turn everyone into a nature conservationist. However, I am sure of one thing: the natural world is an infinite source of wonder. Spend time discovering your favourite ways of appreciating nature. It really doesn’t matter how you enjoy the natural world. What matters is to take pleasure in it. And if we recognize that nature is essential to our well-being and happiness, addressing the environmental crisis becomes a natural course of action, rather than a duty imposed upon us.
Once we bring our awareness back to nature and feel a genuine love for the rest of life on the planet, our wonderfully inventive minds will be sure to come up with the necessary innovative solutions to work towards more sustainable living.