Because most of us live in cities we have lost touch with the earth and everything connected with it. We have lost the old sense of well-being that people used to derive from the rural way of life that was somehow sustaining and reassuring.

We have been separated from the spiritual sanctity of forests and we have been denied the comforting familiarity of well-known woodland paths.

A Rose-covered Cottage

The rose-covered cottage is a myth and we have lost our synchronisation with the slow, unhurried earth rhythms that bring in seasonal changes.

We have lost the very essence of our humanity because the urban way of life has desensitised us towards nature.

And so we have plastic trees and artificial roses in our homes and offices to remind us of nature. But it doesn’t work.

Lost in The Rampant Jungles of Civilization

We have become emotionally disorientated and spiritually disconnected because we have lost our way in the rampant jungles of civilization. Concrete jungles that have progressively altered the face of the earth, changed the environment and modified the climate.

Urbanisation and cities erupt about us with tall, forest-like structures of cement and chrome.

Buildings are piled high on one another because space has run out and the pores of the earth are so deeply clogged with concrete that nature cannot breathe.

Instead of wide stretches of land and open fields we have constructions that cover large areas of earth with deep layers of concrete and tar. Jagged horizons of high-rise buildings extend like huge bar graphs into the sky.

All this has taken its toll on our wellbeing causing depression and malaise.

Give me a Garden

We need the open fields.  We need miles of unspoilt land and acres of forest.  But failing that we need gardens.  More and more of them.

Because gardens bring nature back into our lives. They give us tranquillity and re-establish the balance with nature that we need so badly.

A garden may be a poor replica of a rampant jungle but it keeps us in touch with nature and connects us with the earth.

If you liked this you may wish to read:

Patterns in the Sand – A poem about Nature