Escape from the Concrete Prison

Growing up in Brooklyn, my relationship with nature as a child was quite limited. My knowledge of nature, even more so. In fact, my life in relation to nature was limited to visits to Sunset park, the library and what I saw on tv.  My environment served as a concrete prison, keeping me encased in a man made world of greys and blacks, a world of sadness and desperation.The perverted versions of nature in the asphalt and concrete sea that surrounded my world featured small green patches of grass and the occasional tree. There were no bird nests, song birds or squirrels in these trees, instead there were pigeons, my idea of rats with wings. The sounds of the morning were the roar of the bus, the screech of the train and the occasional "shut up" shouted from a third story window.

However, there were a few moments in my life that I was able to engage fully with nature. Summer time meant beach visits to Coney Island, a trip I looked forward to each year. Looking back, a beach filled with littered sand, polluted sea water  and plastic bag jellyfish should hardly be considered communing with nature. Yet, it was at these times I was able to run freely along the sand with the salt wind whipping my hair behind me, feel the sun kiss my skin with its radiant energy, submerge into the weightless care free world underwater and enjoy feeling connected to something more, something bigger than myself.

In my teenage years, we moved South to Alabama. I cried as I watched the sun disappear and with it, my known reality as we crossed the Verazano Bridge for the last time. Although we moved to the city of Hoover, which was also more developed than rural, at last nature was around me. My building was surrounded by trees and grass. There were flowers, hills, lakes, rocks, birds and squirrels. I spent my free time outside climbing trees, walking nature paths, and soaking up sun until it set.

When thinking of my childhood and the desire to spend as much time as possible outside engaged in play I am saddened. I know that with this generation, modern childhood play has evolved into virtual relationships with tv, video games, cellphones and computers, in other words sedentary activity. After hours of this zombie play, children are left with their natural energy and no outlet. At school and even when with parents, this energy expresses itself in the inability to focus the mind, still the body and follow directions. There are lots of contributing factors, but mainly nature deficient play is to blame. More accurately, lack of active play outdoors engaged in physical activity is to blame. Let me elaborate.

Children should actively engage in play and exploration outdoors as often as weather will allow. This statement is not a mysterious wonder of the universe, most adults would agree with it, whether they hold a degree in education, health, exercise, forestry or none at all. Yet, our society excludes this message at all costs, on all levels. The message our society does send: Nature is scary and your doom, it is inconvenient, messy, boring and should be avoided at all costs! From the way we construct cities, structure schools, organize activities and the media we consume, we restrict our dealings with nature to a minimum and instead inject an impostor, that is synthetic nature. Yes, synthetic nature, you've seen it, you know the manicured lawn that is dyed green, or the stone, concrete and rubber water feature in your neighborhood park. This need for synthetic nature, the need to control and improve nature is rooted so deep in this culture that is even seen in our scientific motives to control natural rhythmic cycles and force bio-engineering and genetic modification. We as a society are sent a message to detach from natural and rely on man's ingenuity, we should get the latest gadget and be connected with the people of the world but not the actual earth we inhabit. We should eat global food and not participate or even know its origin or development. We should consume resources blindly without understanding their renew-ability or lack thereof. This lack of a connection with nature is hurting our children, our selves and our society.

I am not the only person that has detected that the need for human interaction with nature is becoming increasingly important. I recently read a wonderful book, in fact wanting to read and finish this book delayed my blog post. Sorry to all my regular readers, I had to finish it so I could finish this post. It is worth the read, Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv.He coins the term Nature Deficit Disorder. It is not a medical condition, it describes our lack of a relationship to the environment. It hurts our children, our families, our communities and our environment. He links this to behavior disorders, health problems like obesity and depression, as well as a lack of knowledge and respect for nature. He argues that the implications are:

• Children have limited respect for their immediate natural surroundings. Louv says the effects of Nature Deficit Disorder on our children will be an even bigger problem in the future. "An increasing pace in the last three decades, approximately, of a rapid disengagement between children and direct experiences in nature… has profound implications, not only for the health of future generations but for the health of the Earth itself." The effects from Nature Deficit Disorder could lead to the first generation being at risk of having a shorter lifespan then their parents.
• Attention disorders and depression may develop. "It's a problem because kids who don't get nature-time seem more prone to anxiety, depression and attention-deficit problems." Louv suggests that going outside and being in the quiet and calm can help greatly. According to t a University of Illinois study, interaction with nature has proven to reduce symptoms of ADD in children. According to research, "Overall, our findings indicate that exposure to ordinary natural settings in the course of common after-school and weekend activities may be widely effective in reducing attention deficit symptoms in children."  Attention Restoration Theory develops this idea further, both in short term restoration of one's abilities, and the long term ability to cope with stress and adversity.
• Following the development of ADD and mood disorders, lower grades in school also seem to be related to NDD. Louv claims that "studies of students in California and nationwide show that schools that use outdoor classrooms and other forms of experiential education produce significant student gains in social studies, science, language arts, and math".
• Childhood obesity has become a growing problem. About 9 million children (ages 6–19) are overweight or obese. The Institute of Medicine claims that over the past 30 years, childhood obesity has more than doubled for adolescents and more than tripled for children aged 6–11.
• In an interview on Public School Insight, Louv stated some positive effects of treating Nature Deficit Disorder, "everything from a positive effect on the attention span to stress reduction to creativity, cognitive development, and their sense of wonder and connection to the earth."

We must work to heal this broken bond our society possesses with nature. We must engage in nature, with our children and in our communities. We must find the innate natural bond we all possess with the earth and its life. We must try to allow our children to grow and develop their own bond with nature through family activities and time to explore independently. There are so many opportunities to engage nature! Take a camping trip, in the nearest park or your own back yard. Visit the farmer's market, a farm, or even in an urban setting, the botanical gardens. There are so many opportunities to get your family involved with nature, from the small like camping in your yard to the big like living in a RV and exploring the United States. Whatever your commitment level, big or small, your child, your life, your community can benefit from some quality nature time.  So put down the matrix, get motivated, get out and experience real life!


Need more help getting active?
Visit a National Park for FREE during National Park Week April 21-29th
Take a walk in the local park
Go birding
Ride your bike around the neighborhood or park
Plant a garden
Enroll your child in a nature based camp
Go camping
Cant find a group? Start one!

Link up with a local organization:
Children and Nature Network  
Boy Scouts  
Girl Scouts 
Outward Bound  
Wildlife Conservation Society 
Earth Explore Adventures  
National Audubon Society 
Into the Outside 
Ecological Literacy Program
Geography Action  
Sierra Club  
The Society for Amateur Scientists  
National Environmental Directory  

Reading:
http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/Publications/VOP_Anna_Golden.pdf

http://www.scholastic.com/resources/article/why-kids-need-nature1

http://www.whitehutchinson.com/children/articles/childrennature.shtml

http://www.education.com/topic/nature-deficit-disorder/

http://www.education.com/facts/quickfacts-ndd/nature-deficit-disorder-problem-society/

http://www.education.com/facts/quickfacts-ndd/how-prevent-nature-deficit-disorder-kids/

http://www.education.com/facts/quickfacts-ndd/what-environmental-education/

http://www.education.com/facts/quickfacts-ndd/what-no-child-left-inside/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/opinion/02kristof.html?_r=1

http://kristof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/hitting-the-great-outdoors/?scp=2&sq=slug&st=cse
http://www.playlsi.com/Explore-Products/Nature-Inspired-Playground-Designs/Articles/Nature-Benefits/Pages/Nature-Benefits-Children.aspx

Quotes:
"Along with milk and vegetables, kids need a steady diet of rocks and worms
Rocks need skipping.
Holes need digging.
Water needs splashing.
Bugs and frogs and slimy stuff need finding"
Go Rving

"Nature is just enough; but men and women must comprehend and accept her suggestions."
Antoinette Brown Blackwell

"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
An eternity in an hour.:
William Blake
"Children are born naturalist. They explore the world with all their senses, experiment in the environment, and communicate their discoveries to those around them. "
The Aubudon Nature Preschool

1."A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful, is dimmed and even lost  before we reach adulthood."

2."Play, Incorporating Animistic and Magical Thinking Is Important Because It:

Fosters the healthy, creative and emotional growth of a child;
Forms the best foundation for later intellectual growth.
Provides a way in which children get to know the world and creates possibilities for different ways of responding to it.
Fosters empathy and wonder."

"By suggestion and example, I believe children can be helped to hear the many voices about them.  Take Time to listen and talk about the voices of the earth and what they mean—the majestic voice of thunder, the winds, the sound of surf or flowing streams."

3. "For the child. . . it is not half so important to know as to feel. If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow. The years of early childhood are the time to prepare the soil. Once the emotions have been aroused - a sense of the beautiful, the excitement of the new and the unknown, a feeling of sympathy, pity, admiration or love - then we wish for knowledge about the object of our emotional response . . . It is more important to pave the way for a child to want to know than to put him on a diet of facts that he is not ready to assimilate."

1-3 Rachel Carson

"Children the world over have a right to a childhood filled with beauty, joy, adventure, and companionship. They will grow toward ecological literacy if the soil they are nurtured in is rich with experience, love, and good examples."

Alan Dyer

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature."

Anne Frank

The Wakeup Call

The transition from ordinary to extraordinary doesn't happen overnight. It is a gradual transition that requires growth and change within yourself in addition to your exterior components. At times, you doubt and question your decisions and your will to follow through with your plans falter temporarily. You ask God for some sign, a confirmation of some sort. I received a bitter sweet confirmation, one that resonated in my mind loud and clear: Life is too short.

It is one thing, to experience a grandparent toddle dangerously towards passing and even more jarring to see death threaten a parent. If those close calls weren't enough with the conclusion of 2011, 2012 brought the reality that at 28 I was not too young to be threatened either. While I am blessed to have  my health and that of both my grandmother and mother, my friend and classmate wasn't as fortunate. I received news that a fellow mother of young children who was also a sister and daughter suffered a seizure and her life was ended at 28. 

This call came as a reinforcement that any of us at any time could be called from this life. Now this is something I already knew, but the reality of it hit me so hard it knocked the wind from my chest. We spend so much time planning and worrying concerned about tomorrow, next month and the next five years. We waste so much time in these thoughts that we don't enjoy enough of the time we do have. Looking at my young son, I wondered if I had spent enough time being happy rather than planning for and pursuing it. 

I must say that this is not the confirmation I asked for, regardless it is the message I needed. Sheding the identity of my old life, one filed with stress and worries, careers and finances, consumerism and commercialism was indeed the right choice. Blinded and preoccupied by so many unimportant distractions like keeping up with the Joneses, was keeping me from experiencing true happiness. The happiness I seek cannot be bought, it can only be lived and experienced. 

After a month of living in my own home, albeit a motor home, I have felt a sense of peace like never before. It is so much more that not worring about rent, or about what others think about me. It is a realization that I am headed in the right directions. Now that I am no longer tied to the world with greed and desire, I am free to experience the treasures given to us freely by nature. Now I have the time and sense to appreciate sunsets, the movement of water, the colors of Spring...the list endless and ever changing. Even though I've just begun, I've had more beautiful sunsets in the past month than in the past 10 years, more smiles in the past month than in the past year and for that I'm thankful.

It would be great if nomadic life were for us all, then I wouldn't be as weird. I know that everyone who reads this blog life isn't out there on the open road, but take my wake up call as your own. Don't wait for life to slap you in the face to see that real life is calling you. That is, look past the illusion of your job title, your position in your community, your wealth or debt, or your past and see who you really are inside. Don't wait for some cosmic confirmation from the universe to determine that you should live life to the fullest potential. Tell the people in your life that you love them, take time to smell the flowers, laugh at your child's knock knock joke and don't hesitate to be the you that you dreamed of. Let go and live! Good luck on your journey, I hope our paths cross soon!


I leave you with this inspiration that was shared with me on FB:

"The void. It's that place in our lives where what we've been hanging onto, clinging to for dear life, is stripped away. It's that place in us where we let go of what we know, what we think we know, and what we want and surrender to the unknown. It is the place of saying and meaning, 'I don't know.' It means standing there with our hands empty for a while, sometimes watching everything we wanted disappear; our self image, our definition of who we thought we should be, the clones we've created of ourselves, the people we thought we had to have, the things we thought were so important to collect and surround ourselves with, the job we were certain was ours, the place we thought we'd live in all our lives. Step into the void with courage. Learn to say, I don't know. Allow your spirit to lead you wherever your soul wants and needs to go."

- Melody Beattie 

The Search

As a little girl, I remember the excitement I felt on the Fourth of July. Unlike most children who would stare awestruck at the bright and loud blazes of light dancing across the night sky I remember the feeling in my chest when I watched the American flag waving in the summer breeze, when I heard the star spangled banner streaming from the radio and my head swirled with the images of freedom, liberty and pursuit of happiness. I was taught that these intangible ideals were a gift, an opportunity for someone like me, a young Puertorican girl in Brooklyn, New York, United States of America. My mother was the first generation of main-lander… in other words all Puertoricans are born US citizens but my mother’s generation was the first actually born here in the States. So, for my family, the ability to go to school and pursue career, home and all the fancy things in life was the way out, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  In the years to follow, I adopted this American dream as my own and set out on a journey to pursue that dream of a college education, career, family with a husband, two children, home and dog… in other words I wanted it all.

 

It wasn’t long before my dreams and goals began to come into fruition, I attended college, climbed the ladder in my field of choice, found a mate and even contrary to medical knowledge bore a son.  Yet, something was wrong. Despite my ability to set goals and achieve, to face adversity and conquer, to work and grow, I felt stifled and unfulfilled.  As a spiritual person, I thought maybe I wasn’t spiritually strong enough, or connected enough in my relationship with my creator, or maybe needed work or growth. I found myself battling depression because despite what I did, it seemed the more I achieved my dreams, the more troubled my mind was. Did Biggie really get this one right? No…surely that couldn’t be.

So, in a bit of denial, I set out on a journey, one of spirit, prayer, learning and discovery. I searched for the source of my distress and a solution. I began to read and study, I found myself in prayer and meditating to evaluate myself inward. I was not wholly surprised by what I found, rather surprised that I had strayed so far from where and who I needed to be. While I attained the understanding of where I needed to be, the challenge was how to get there and where to find the courage to begin the journey. In addition to fear, surprise and uncertainty, I also felt the slightest elation, for at least I now had direction. To start working on the solution, I first had to address the problem: my dreams were never my own, at least not truly.

When I began the journey into adulthood, majority of my motivation was to please my family, I wanted more than anything for them to be proud of my accomplishments. But as I aged, instead of adding myself to the list, I added others to that list. By mid-twenties, I wanted to please my mate, amaze my employers, impress friends, be a good citizen, friendly neighbor and be the envy of acquaintances (and after a while even strangers). I found myself engrossed and obsessed with what others thought and felt about me.  I found myself sleepless at night,  my mind dizzy from dancing endless circles wondering about the things I could have done better and ways to get things I wanted. I worried if the ever mounting pressure continued,  my once resilient self would buckle and I’d get a one way ticket to the cuckoos closet. I found that I could hide the disruption of myself only so long, despite my hidden talent of putting on happy face. Soon people began to notice that the once happy, outgoing and fun person I once was had gone missing. I had been replaced with a socially avoidant, stressed shell of a person who was a stranger to the same family and friends whom I had once adored.  The next step did not restore any kind of relief either. In fact it was far from relief, it was worry and concern expressed in phrases like, are you for real…no seriously for real for real? 

From the reactions, you would think that I hit rock bottom, or was in need of a doctor’s supervision.  Quite the contrary, for the first time in my life I found a new dream. A dream all my own, outside of what others wanted or society deemed proper. I dug into my own soul and found the core of what made me happy and discarded anything and everything else. I decided that I wanted to change my life completely… that my life of living for family and myself would begin and my slavery to pleasing the world was over.

This transition was not overnight. In fact it is still in progress now. But at least the search is over. I know what I want for my life, the anxiety of impressions and appearance is over, the importance of objects and materialism no longer imprison me and I am finally free to be happy with myself, my mate and my son, what ever and where ever life brings us. The best part is that I found that the attachment to all of these things actually kept me distracted from real life. Now, I am free to see, experience and live all the beauty created by God without the haze of greed, desire and vanity.

I invite you to begin your own search for what makes you truly happy and to find the courage to pursue it. As for my family and I, we are beginning our own journey. Our next step is to secure our new dream home, a motor home, then begin the purge of our materialism. Follow us as we find our home, liquidate 80-90% of our wordly goods, and strip down to the actual essentials in life before we start out in our new dream life.

Stay posted for the story of our life as The Golden Gypsies as it unfolds...

Below are some quotes I found that were inspiration to us on our Search:

"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else that prevents us from living freely and nobly." –Henry David Thoreau

"Any so called material thing that you want is not for itself but because it will content your spirit for the moment." -Mark Twain

“Cure yourself of the affliction of caring how you appear to others. Concern yourself only with how you appear before God, concern yourself only with the idea that God may have of you.”
- Miguel de Unamuno quotes

"Much of our activity these days is nothing more than a cheap anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life."–Unknown

"There is something perverse about more than enough. When we have more, it is never enough. It is always somewhere out there, just out of reach. The more we acquire, the more elusive enough becomes." –Unknown

"Lust is all get. Love is all give." –Unknown

"Materialism is the only form of distraction from true bliss." –Doug Horton

"So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to your community around you and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning." -Morrie Schwartz

"Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life and the labors of life reduce themselves."-Edwin Way Teale

"Do not think me mad. It is not to make money that I believe a Christian should live. The noblest thing a man can do is, just humbly to receive and then go amongst others and give." –David Livingstone

The following quotes were taken from Present Day Nomads @ www.presentdaynomads.com---->

 “Doing what you want to do is life, and there is no real satisfaction in living if we are compelled to be forever doing something which we do not like to do and can never do what we want to do. And it is certain that you can do what you want to do. The desire to do it is proof that you have within you the power which can do it.”

— Wallace D Wattles, Science of Getting Rich.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” — Oscar Wilde

“A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?” — Albert Einstein

“To find out what you love to do demands a great deal of intelligence; because, if you are afraid of not being able to earn a livelihood, or of not fitting into this rotten society, then you will never find out.

But, if you are not frightened, if you refuse to be pushed into the groove of tradition by your parents, by your teachers, by the superficial demands of society, then there is a possibility of discovering what it is you really love to do. So, to discover, there must be no fear of not surviving.” — Krishnamurti

“In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.”— Theodore Roosevelt

“I would rather be a failure at something I love to do than a success at something I hate.” — George Burns

“Live life fully while you’re here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You’re going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes. Find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don’t try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” — Anthony Robbins

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’”— Erma Bombeck

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” — Steve Jobs

“The one piece of advice I can give you is, do what turns you on. Do something that if you had all the money in the world, you’d still be doing it. You’ve got to have a reason to jump out of bed in the morning.” — Warren Buffet

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind!” — Dr. Seuss

“Gandhi already did Gandhi, Mother Theresa did Mother Theresa so well, and Martin Luther King, he did Martin great! You be you! You be you! You be you! Who else could do you like you anyway” — Reverend Michael Beckwith