Recently I have been considering the role of love as a motivator for the level of engagement and commitment required to the changes necessary to ensure we have an environment and society worth living in for future generations.
Love is such a BIG word and it can mean so many things depending on the situation. This short piece is to encourage you to consider what does Love mean to you as a motivator for protection.
- We protect what we love
- It’s hard to love something you do not know.
- It’s hard to know something you have not experienced.
We experience through the senses. In the Way of Nature we spend a lot of time with the nine experiential fields in order to really get to know something:
- Sight
- Sound
- Taste
- Smell
- Touch
- Energy
- Movement and balance
- Emotions
- Thoughts
Something to play with – bring to mind something or someone you love.
- What is pleasing to you?
- View it in your mind’s eye – the colours, the shapes, the swirls, the way looks in different light?
- How do you describe the sound when you hold this image
- If you were able to touch it, how would you describe the sensation?
- And what if you could taste it?
- How does the sound feel within your body?
- Is there an energy associated with this item or person – do you feel light, heavy, warm, cold
- Does the sight, the sound, the smell create a sensation within your body? Can you locate that sensation? It may be a warmth in your heart, it may be a feeling in your tummy? It may also be a restriction or contraction?
- Can you name any feelings associated with it? There may be a real mix of feelings and emotions that arise. Often the warm feelings associated with love can also bring up feelings of guilt, sadness, shame within yourself for shortcomings you may recognise in terms of how you treat this person or thing that you love. These are quite normal – simply observe, do not judge.
- What thoughts arise in this moment?
Now that you have a complete picture of this being that you love, what would you do to protect it? Are you doing anything that harms this being in any way, that you hadn’t previously realised?
As you consider your various roles, be it within your family, your community or your work, give some thought to how you can actively create space for actions that maintain and even grow your love for this being, and how will you protect what you love if it were in any danger.
If you are interested in exploring this more, come and join our Partnering With Nature workshop in November in Auckland, or contact me to find out about running a program within your organisation.