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Field Report: an online program
participant, shares his results from a nature-connecting activity.
ORGANIC LEARNING: NATURAL INTELLIGENCE HELPS ME FIND PEACE AND
THE RIGHT WORKPLACE JOB.
Lake Washington in late evening.
I was attracted to the expanse and the activity of the lake.
Especially in the sunset, with the colors intensifying against
the dark clouds to the east. At first I thought my choice was
a little obvious (the lake is huge), but as I sat there, I became
aware of how many intelligences were at play in that body of
water. There was a calming aspect to the leveling property, and
yet the lake is able to be so many things to so many creatures.
We watched fish jump and mosquitoes swarm; there was a heron
and a bald eagle. Dog-walkers let their dogs play in the water.
We watched a skiff pass. Against the far shore you could see
homes fronting the lake. And above, the clouds, with their moisture
content fed at least in part by the lake. It felt like we sat
between two lakes, one above and one below.
I had been feeling pressed
for time, pulled in many directions. Sitting there by the lake
and feeling the sense that there are many functions one can serve,
but still be in tune with the flow of the ecology, of the sense
of leveling that water conveys. The longer I sat there, the more
I felt that the lake was both giving and receiving. And I knew
that there was a great part of its intelligence occurring in
a place where I couldn't see, but only imagine. And so the patterns
of water on the surface became a symbol of trusting in the deep
wisdom. I can't see what the lake is up to down below the surface.
But even on that thin plane where it encounters the air: so much
activity, so much generosity!
I left feeling restored, balanced,
less feeling that each demand in life requires an immediate response.
There's the plane of action, and then the deep waters of steadied
activity. And how foolish I can feel when I think that the good
function of my life depends upon crossing things off of a to-do
list! I have been aware of this same intelligence often in the
autumn. There, it seems as though nature is masterfully coordinating
all manner of steady adjustments to a new phase, which-like the
deep of the lake-often operates unseen through the winter. It's
a way of giving over some of my busy-ness to rhythms that know
exactly what to do.
Being aware of nature's intelligence,
I decided it was now a good time to enlist its aid and consider
how I feel about my current job and the fact that I feel the
need to move on. I went outside onto the rear deck of the house
and made myself comfortable on a chair. However I didn't feel
comfortable. The breeze was cool and I was aware that I was sitting
in the shade while the golden conifer trees in the neighbor's
garden were shining in the sunlight. I made the decision to change
my position so that I could be in the warmth of the sun. This
time I headed out into the front garden and was immediately attracted
by the warmth of the sinking sun filtering towards me through
the branches of the cherry tree. The plants with two-toned leaves
were strong and vigorous and seemed to have grown huge over only
a few weeks where before there was barely anything to be seen.
The spring and the sunlight had totally regenerated them. It
made me think that I should change my perspective. Bring myself
out from the shade and into the sunlight. Either change my attitude
to where I was now and be more positive, or move on to somewhere
where I would feel more nurtured and alive.
I love these kinds of exercises
they are so easy to do and help put things into perspective so
well. I'm sure the effect is very similar to meditating on an
issue except the total sensory immersion gives a more somatic
effect.
Act now.
Master Organic
Psychology by doing it.
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