Photo by Don Pierce
Focus on strengthening positive traits rather than accumulating fleeting positive states.
Generally, when you call upon your personal strengths, your day unfolds better than when you seek mindless pleasure.
No external gains alone—better shelter, finer clothes, or prestigious friends—can secure lasting happiness without developing peace of mind.
Mental development offers a more abiding happiness than material gains.
As a child, I often found peace perched high in trees I built or climbed—locusts, sycamores, box elders—where the leaves, birds, and solitude lifted me above low empathy and noise.
Research shows climbing natural trees reduces tension, lowers anxiety, and improves mental clarity, fostering a bond with nature and encouraging conservation.
Try this: find a natural being that attracts you, gain its consent through focused attention, then climb a tree or natural cliff nearby. Reflect on the joy, meaning, and connection this wild interaction brings compared to artificial or indoor climbing.
HumaNatureConnect Activity
Read the text with your literary, mind, and reason senses.
Find an attractive natural being with pen and journal in hand.
Appreciate it with your breath.
Gain its consent by focusing on it for at least ten seconds.
Use at least one radiation, feeling, chemical, and mental sense to deepen your connection.
Climb a tree or natural cliff near your chosen being.
Journal your reflections on joy, meaning, and connection.
Journal Prompts
Describe your activity and experience.
Write freely about what attracted you.
List three qualities you admired.
Note three learnings.
Reflect on changes in self-esteem or trust in nature.
Describe any changes in yourself.
Praise your commitment to this path.
Write “I am a person who...” statements inspired by this experience.
Imagine feelings if you lost this connection.
Compare your love for the natural being and yourself.
Mark your agreement with the Ten Green Wave Validation Statements.
Summarize your response in two words.
Nocturnal Pilgrimage
Before moving on, tend to your dreams by writing notes about them. Mark lucid dreams and record reflections on nature from your dreams.
