I’m starting to think that we need to be more aware of how much we depend on nature.

As humans, we’ve been pretty detached from nature for a long time. We don’t really have to do anything to survive anymore—we just go to the grocery store and buy our food, or we order it online. We’ve built all of our cities in such a way that we don’t have to learn how to hunt or farm; instead, we can just go get a burger at McDonald’s if we’re hungry. I have one just a stone’s throw away from home.

But as I’ve been thinking about this over the last few months, something has started to change for me: in spite of all these conveniences, I feel like I’m starting to realize how much we depend on nature anyway.

It’s not just about how much we use it—it’s also about how much we need it. Nature is a huge part of our lives even though it doesn’t seem like it because so much of what we do is hidden from us by technology, or buried beneath layers of society and culture. But when you think about it… everything comes from nature! The air that you breathe comes from trees and plants; your water comes from rivers and lakes; even your very body is made up of chemicals in nature.

I’ve been exploring my own ideas of self-care, and it occurred to me that nature is the home we are born into and our remedy for stress.

We are all connected to the earth in some way—whether it’s through feeling a sense of peace when we’re near water or connecting with the cycles of nature. The world around us is a powerful teacher for all of us, but especially for those who have been hurt or who have lost their way. Nature can help us find our way back from pain and trauma. It can bring us back to ourselves, and it can help us remember who we are at our core.