While exploring the Franklin Park Conservatory with my friend, Cameron, last week we got to talking about how much more alive we feel when in nature. He is very connected to nature and I asked him to share what that means and how his connection affects his day-to-day life.
Q: What does it mean to you to be one with nature? 
Being one with nature means both respecting and participating in nature. Everything in nature finds balance, we as a species are currently in search of this balance.
Q: How has your connection to nature affected your health and well-being in the past year?
I have been blessed with wonderful health over the last year, the noticeable differences in my life come from my mood. When I am able to spend time with fresh air and plants I am always more calm and understanding, when I am confined indoors the first thing to go is my sense of balance with my emotions.
Q: Do you have any words of advice for someone interested in becoming more connected to nature?
Learn about ways that life comes into balance. For example cows and grass help each other, cows eat the grass to feed themselves while the saliva from the cows actually help the grass to heal. Animals and plants are completely dependent on each other, most plants inhale CO2 and exhale O2, and most animals do the opposite. The more I’ve learned about the many relationships between species the more I truly began to see how we are a part of nature and nature is a part of us.
Q: Does your connection to nature affect your food or activity choices? If yes, how?
This is an interesting question as right now I have a bit of an internal conflict going on around my food. There is a part of me that feels so connected to animals that I am having a harder and harder time eating them. It’s also increased my understanding of the importance of eating non-processed foods. Animals and humans remain healthier when eating food as close to nature as possible.
