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“Throw of the shackles of your digital screens”

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Throughout our journey on the development of this project a re-occurring theme has been how can we share our passionately held deep conviction that our modern society is rapidly moving away from a true appreciation of Nature?

 

Our belief is that one must daily strive to intimately connect with Nature, not through a second-hand projection, watched on a digital screen, but by interacting with all the elements that make us feel alive. An understanding of the part that a real physical connection to The Natural World plays in human well-being and contentment is vital.  It is imperative that we actively get out into the ‘wild woods’ and reconnect with our primal instincts There is really not any adequate substitutes available.  

 

The recent beautifully produced documentaries by Sir David Attenborough have been rightly praised for raising awareness on major conservation issues and their global impact on species and habitats. The Oxford Dictionary defines a documentary as – ‘giving a record of or report on the facts about something, especially by using pictures, recordings, etc.’ – and therein lies its attraction, but also its beguiling seduction. As alluring as Sir David’s Documentaries are to his viewers, they are by definition a second-hand report in sound and pictures, presented to a “passive” you,  on a digital screen.

 

“Throw of the shackles of your digital screens. Embrace the passion that you feel in your dreams. Leave only footprints behind, as you Gentle Go”

 

To really ‘connect’ with Nature you need to personally make the decision to truly interact in a physical, mental and emotional way. Not just passively absorb something that has been presented to you.

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Just Gentle Go, feeling the wind on your skin, the flickering of a tuft of your hair in the periphery of your vision, disturbed by a sudden gust of warm air. Being aware of the smell of the sweet scent of nectar drifting upwards, as a foraging bee’s wing dislodges some pollen in the hedgerow. That taste in your mouth as you breathe in the early morning mist rising from the dew soaked bracken beneath your feet.  The cracking of a twig, maybe caused by the footfall of an unseen deer. You ‘sense’ that it is there, through an innate primal instinct developed eons ago by your hunter-gatherer ancestors. You smile, knowing it is watching you and you are glad that you pose no threat. Moving on ever deeper into the wild now, hearing that elusive bird-song that your ears can’t quite locate, as it echoes around the tree top canopy. A brief flash that your eyes fail to define as the bird changes position.

 

Pausing for a moment, you are aware of the distant sounds of traffic, far behind you, reminding you that the interface between modern life is always hovering and threatening to intrude on Natures Ways.

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We cannot escape the times we are in, but we must ensure that society never forgets ‘The Old Ways’  -  Natures Ways -  and in this project we are endeavouring to describe the benefits of living with the mantra  -  Just Gentle Go.