Staying Connected with Nature With Our Daily Routines and Lifestyle

In this article, N Kalyani discusses how disconnected we are from nature, both in terms of using natural and organic products and aligning our lives with the natural world. Given the current state of our lives, it would be valuable and intriguing to explore ways—no matter how small-to reconnect with nature through our daily routines and lifestyle.

- N Kalyani

Today, at least in most urban settings, people are likely to be staying in mini concrete jungles of high rise buildings, and working in cubicles and office stations in their offices located in, yes, high rise buildings, once again. Multiple high rise concrete towers make up the foreground and the background. Small open spaces at the core are hemmed in on all sides by multi-storied towers. In residential areas, such open spaces may serve as recreation areas for children and adults with a little attention to greenery. It is practically an impossibility to have a little garden, let alone a sprawling one, attached to one's home. Or then a kitchen garden. How much do we therefore stay connected with nature in such a setting? So much for modern day living spaces.

When we come to the kind of lifestyle we have, whether it is the kind of food we consume or the kind of clothes we choose to wear, we are quite away, very often, from the natural and organic, and are willy-nilly, at times, drawn to the synthetic, the world of chemicals and artificially synthesized products. Often convenience is touted as the reason for the choices we make given that the modern day lifestyle is characterized by being hard pressed for time what with the multiple roles we have to play and the multitasking we have to adopt.

Also, thanks to modern technology and our lifestyle we use synthetic and chemicals-based products whether it is cosmetics, carry bags, boxes, storage goods, containers, furniture, fittings and fixtures, stationery, furnishings, electrical and electronic gadgets and equipment, and the list goes on.