Dear Mother Nature

For me, writing up a rigorously researched topic can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming, much in the same way that this climate crisis can feel like an insurmountable challenge to overcome. I wrote this piece in a moment of quiet, while I had some time to process all the experiences I’ve had in the past 6 months. More than ever I’ve felt a strong pull to be in nature. I crave it deeply and feel better when I am awed by the colours and smells and sounds around me. This is me trying to make sense of it. Enjoy.

Dear Mother Nature 

I say ‘mother’ deliberately because we’re children on this planet

So young compared to you

You grow and love and carry and nurture us 

And we in turn treat you like bratty toddlers who are out of balance 

Who are not getting enough nutritious food despite what you offer us 

Who are not getting enough sleep because we are now all iPad kids 

Disconnected from you and each other 

Our family 

Plants, animals, people 

Who have replaced clean air and water with concrete jungles 

Spotted with houseplants

Though we could be surrounded by forests 

Who have disrupted the perfect harmony of interconnected ecosystems that keep us here 

We are slowly eroding the ecosystems that you established 

With technology we think is making things better 

But our naivety shows up

Our ‘solutions’ are silver bullets that delay but do not solve 

We know quick fixes will not work but still we continue to prioritise them

Because accepting they will not help, means grieving what we have taken from ourselves

and each other  

We need to grieve the relationship we once had

To repair it we must face the past head on 

Not shy away and pretend it’s fine 

It’s not fine 

And it won’t be unless we sit in the discomfort of it not being fine 

Because experiencing the discomfort is the only thing that will lead to growth

To action 

Each time I am with you I am calm 

It takes days and sometimes weeks but I get back to equilibrium, 

in balance 

I feel jittery and agitated as I’m pulled back into a dynamic that can be so removed from

my urban environment and life

But once I get there I breathe 

I breathe in 

And let out big sighs 

And sometimes cry 

Because the realisation we don’t take care of you 

Despite you eternally caring for us 

Is gut wrenching 

We take and take and take and you give 

You have given to the point now where there is so little left to give 

Still we expect it to continue 

But it can’t 

And it’s this we need to understand 

Dear Mother Nature, you have done your job 

Now it is up to us.