Nature Awareness, Requirement 13

Based on the research and conclusions you have drawn from question 1 through 12, describe how you might further extend your personal and/or group spiritual practices to include the Nature Spirits and other natural elements. (minimum 300 words)

Personally, a primary idea I have had in development for years now is creating a way of honouring the local watershed and river goddess. The Olentangy River is a valuable resource and is also strongly linked to the history of the area. There have been songs sung about it, tales told of it, and histories written about it. Incorporating local river goddesses is a common Indo-European idea (one cannot, exactly, take their own river with them when they migrate), and this is something that the Grove seems to lack. I would very much like to incorporate this aspect of the natural world into my Grove's practice.

As for the nature spirits themselves, I would also like to find better ways to connect the Grove to them, be that through meditation, nature hikes, or working on environmental action projects. The Grove has, in the past, done park cleanups and worked on environmental issues, but these are neither popular nor common community service projects for the Grove. It is important for us to get out into nature as often as possible, and to clean it up while we're out there is doubly good.

For my own personal practice, I would like to incorporate the nature spirits primarily through increased outdoor activity. I love to hike and walk and get my boots muddy, but that has become more rare over the last year, and I have a strong desire to get back out where I can be with nature again. I also want to do more work with the nature spirits, particularly simply sitting in nature and enjoying it. Probably the biggest effort I wish to make, though, is in my garden, which has become quite run down and overrun with weeds. I want to make that beautiful again, to work the land with my hands. That seems to be the best way for me to get back in touch with the land: to actually stick my hands into it.

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