“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.” _{– William Shakespeare}

From the abandonment of farms for sub-urban living to the wilderness being barricaded off from our metropolitan cities, the barriers separating humanity from nature has never been as wide as they are today. With the leaps and bound advancements of science and technology, our modern gadgets are turning into a supplement for real-life experiences.

The ability of our planet in pursuance of maintaining life’s abundance has been overwhelmed by our global economy today. We need to understand that something is going terribly wrong and it has been accumulating over the decades. It is crucial for us now to reorient ourselves in the ways we relate to each other and our nature’s wonders through the economy, during this critical time in history.

It is very apt to say that the economy without ecology simply means to manage the human-nature relationship without knowing the delicate balance between the natural world and mankind. It is high time that we realize how off-balance we have been over a prolonged period of time before we are struck with some humongous calamity.

According to the Psychology of Gender and Health, 2017, self-identity has been defined as the process that develops over a lifetime, with the rapid formation in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. Sadly though, over the decades we have been adopting a false sense of self- identity which tends to magnify us while disregarding the importance of nature in our lives.

Johnny Armstrong, author and eco advocate says, “Here we have the identity crisis of humans when face-to-face with nature. We have lost our sense of being members of the family of life. That helps explain the seeming obsession with being in control of nature, instead of accepting science that tells us just the opposite. The story that biological science tells us ultimately leads down to the molecular level. And that becomes vastly complicated when all the environmental factors are considered. It’s mind-boggling. But then, that’s what makes science so much more fascinating than human contrivance.

He emphasizes, “Mother Nature isn’t sweet, but she certainly is in charge.”

Our lack of self-identity in the face of nature only showcases the fact that we have taken nature for granted. We might be the most advanced creature on this planet now but that does not change the fact that we, humans, are but only one among thousands of other species. It is not just us that make up this whole planet, but the whole accumulation of every other living organism in this world.

The absence of self-identity disconnects us from nature and in the process, we start to reduce the importance of Earth’s biodiversity. We need to stop putting ourselves on the pedestal and give nature its due importance, in pursuance of avoiding the wraths of nature.

Listen to the sweet chirping of the birds, feel the wind on your face, while you go take a walk in the woods, where there is no Wi-Fi, but you’ll surely find a better connection! John Muir had rightly said, “In every walk in with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” We are an integral part of nature and let us not forget that. Our human spirit requires places where the innate canopy connection of nature has not been rearranged by the hands.

Let us join our hands with nature and be in oneness with our self identity. This is a must in order to bring back the harmonious symphony in the human nature relationship. This connection must be rediscovered if we are to survive as a species with a sanguine quality of life. If you’re looking to explore this idea but escape into a story, add Shadowshine by Johnny Armstrong to your quarantine reading list.