Inspired by my Instagram Live chat with Michelle Parry from The Rewilding Community, this blog is all about Human Rewilding. You can watch it back by clicking this link.
What is human rewilding?
We typically think about the word 'rewilding' in an environmental context, to allow nature to be left to go back to its original, natural state. What happens when we begin to apply this same concept to humans?
It's not unusual to find ourselves in a constant pursuit of external ways to 'fix ourselves', seeking endlessly for solutions to outsource problems and automate life, but we ultimately forget, we instinctively already have our own answers and solutions.
Human re-wilding is all about relearning our connection with the natural world and ourselves, going back to older methods and philosophies. Understanding that, whoever you are and wherever you live or work, humans have an innate desire and instinct to want to connect with nature and other living systems.
We often do this without even realising, yet when we do, and bring more consciousness to how we integrate nature into our lives we can begin to experience positive effects on our mental and physical wellbeing and begin to thrive.
Michelle Parry at The Re-wilding Community's personal definition of human re-wilding is :
“To consciously restore to a more natural, wild state in order to rebalance and repair, Used especially with reference to the undoing of domestication and conditioning. Human re-wilding is a holistic, intentional way of living.”
So how can you start rewilding yourself today?
Nature Connection is key
You are nature.
Not apart from nature.
By choosing to deepen your connection with nature you do so with yourself.
Nature is our teacher, our healer, our provider and the source of all life.
Tune in to your senses.
Get ready to sharpen the best toolkit you have. We have these 5 wonderful senses, that are our key to experiencing life's pleasures. Tuning in, is the fastest way to bring yourself to the present moment.
Next time you're in the woods, your garden, an outdoor setting…
Check in with your senses; , sound, vision, taste, touch and smell and ask yourself “what am I experiencing in this moment right now”
“What can I smell?” “What can I hear?” “how far away or nearby can I tune into this sense?”
Count off your senses with your fingers one by one and check in with what’s going on around you or perhaps in the distance. Receive nature and allow it to shower down on you and soak you right through. You don’t have to ‘do’ anything, simply, receive. Stay curious and explore. Channel your inner child, touch things and go off path and have some fun!
Rewilding in the city
The average person spends 40*+ hours looking at a screen, indoors, and often in sterile office environments, so it's not really shocking that this starts to have an impact on your wellbeing and state of mind. Your sleep quality, attention span and productivity can take the hit.
There are lots of little things that you can do as part of your daily routine to add a little bit of wild into your life
5 ways to rewild yourself if you spend lots of time indoors
1. Adjust your view - can you change your desk, bed or dining table to look out of a window? If the answer is no, try adding pictures of landscapes and vistas into your home, or as the screensaver background of your device.
2. Bring the outside in, find fallen branches, plants, driftwood, stones, feathers and use your imagination to integrate this into your home or workplace, adding biophilic elements into your space that you can draw on for inspiration throughout the day.
3. Open your windows and get some fresh air and ventilation in your space. Allowing the air to circulate will get the pollutant baddies and stale air out and the fresh air in. Not only that, you can tune into the sounds of the outside, from glorious birdsong to the patter of rain.
4. Become a plant mother. Growing a plant from seed and watching it evolve, day by day right in front of your eyes can only be described as magic!
5. Eat seasonally and buy local produce where possible, not only is this more nutritious you are doing your bit for the planet by reducing food miles and supporting your local growers and producers!
These all may seem small tweaks, or maybe big? All of these will build up toward having a much bigger and holistic impact on your overall health and wellbeing.
Human Connection and Community
Coming together to gather, and connect with others is critical to our overall wellbeing in order to thrive and survive.
As far back as we can trace, humans have traveled, hunted, and thrived in social groups, humans who are separated from their tribe often suffered severe consequences. Social groups provide us with an important part of our identity, and more than that, they teach us a set of skills that help us to live our lives. Feeling socially connected, especially in an increasingly isolated world, is more important than ever. The benefits of social connectedness shouldn’t be overlooked. (Mindwise.org)
We can find moments of connection in friends, families and strangers alike, and they can appear in the most unlikely places at the most needed time, from random acts of kindness, to picking up the phone, sharing food, or volunteering your time and skills to help someone else.
When we gather intentionally and with purpose we can deepen our relationships, foster meaningful connections and experience great joy.
Special thank you and gratitude to Michelle Parry at The Rewilding Community who gave permission for me to use wording from her website for this article
Did you know that I offer 1:1 Wellbeing Coaching to help you slow down, connect to yourself and to nature, beat overwhelm and live a life you love? Look at my coaching programme here. Book in a free 30 minute consultation to find out more.
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