Cut off from the natural world, our lives take on a certain shallowness. Only when we leave the familiarity and the security of our homes behind do we sense the grandeur and mystery of the natural world. When we are cut off from nature, we lose a certain part of ourselves. We forfeit that part of ourselves which can only be experienced when we place ourselves in the midst of God's creation. We suffer from our estrangement from the natural world.
Mother earth suffers as well.
In our distance and insensitivity, we are destroying our planet. Every day, we cut into the great forests, pollute the air and contaminate the seas. We have attained such mastery over nature that we have forgotten that we are a part of nature. We have lost sight of the fact that we are creatures on this planet, not wholly unlike the deer, the fox and the hawk. We need a religious practice which opens our eyes to see the intricate web of life of which we are a part.