I’ve been spending some time lately on the beautiful island on Aitutuaki, which is four hours away from the New Zealand mainland by airplane. I’ve had many adventures in nature there, some even as simple as peeling coconuts.
Peeling coconuts was hard to do, and as you can see in this video I made of the experience, it made me think about the first people who came to the island. In a place where there’s no fresh water, coconuts and their milk were necessary for survival. Although the natural environment here is so beautiful and peaceful, they had to work hard for their basic needs. It made me appreciate the bounty of nature once again and how human beings are also nature.
I think when we’re immersed in modern high-tech lives, particularly if we live in a city, we can forget about this fundamental fact pretty easily. We may tend to think and act as if we are lords over nature, even without realizing it or intending to. But before there were humans, the earth and the sun existed; humans are just guests invited to this planet.
If we can feel that we are nature, however, wherever we are, here and now, we can feel the infinite creative power we have because we are nature. Nature is the substance of that power. Worldly prestige, money, and power change like flowers or autumn leaves, wilting and fading away with time. Nature, however, has an absolute value that always exists. Nature is an expression of life itself.
I think we all have come to the earth to realize that we also have this absolute value and to express this value in whatever work we do.
We can feel this value and this power in ourselves through mindful breathing. Life is found in breathing. And if we breathe well, we are peaceful, healthy, and everything gets better. Breathing well means breathing easily in a relaxed way from deep in our belly. We can breathe well when we release any tension in our chest and torso and keep our mind focused on our lower abdomen.
I hope this video brings you back to nature if you’ve drifted away. What do you feel when you watch it? I hope you’ll share it with me.