On Nature: “Home, Sweet Home” Is A Practice, Not A Place

Nature knows best. We encounter nature all around us—in the food that we eat, in the clothes that we wear, and in the bodies that we inhabit. We also experience nature through relationships with our pets and the plants that we love to look at, but struggle to keep alive (we are busy, so I get it).

But can you imagine what the world would look like if humans were responsible for keeping every single plant alive? I’m talking about trees in the forest and flowers in the jungle, ranging to the grass in your backyard and the bushes that line your city block. This paints a pretty grim picture.

Thankfully, we live our busy little lives knowing that when in their natural habitats, plants always find a way to get exactly what they need from the earth to fulfill their singular purpose: to grow and bear fruit.

The problem arises when they are plucked from their natural habitats. They struggle once they are removed from their support systems and transplanted into soil that was never meant to nourish them, or when their natural habitat is polluted by external forces. When left to their own devices, however, plants cannot help but to grow to their fullest potential.

What if the human experience is the same way?

Think about the last time you've felt some form of struggle, pain, fear, or frustration. What kind of environment were you in? How did you behave?

The chances are that during those periods, you didn’t “feel like your true self.” You probably felt stagnant, and you probably weren't experiencing the fruits of your labor. The reality is that if you feel like you aren’t growing, then you are most likely not in your natural habitat in at least one core area of life.

"The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.” (Zeno of Citium)

We may impact the world in different ways. But like plants, we are all on this planet to grow, and we grow when we are planted in supportive environments that enable us to exist as our most authentic selves. This might not necessarily be the city, family, community, etc. in which you were born or the job that you've had for as long as you can remember. It's wherever you feel the most alignment.

The good news is that you can always change your environment and return home, whatever that means for you. My challenge to you this week is to reflect on your sense of home and how you can integrate it into your life. What if home wasn't a place, but a daily practice?