How To Live Naturally In The 21st Century

Would you agree that 21st century living is characterized by immediate gratification, speed, and complexity? That is not to say that any of those things are bad or that we should return to pioneer living. It is to say that those things can sometimes blind you to the awesomeness of nature.

In this post, you will be reminded of the many blessings in nature and how simply slowing down to receive them actually yields the results you aspire to.

Nature Gets Better With Age

This is a concept that is often stated as fact but rarely appreciated or embraced in practice. Think about it, fast food drive thru windows and microwave dinners are both ways of getting a meal in short order. Gone are the days when we go out into the field to pick vegetables and fish in the pond for the meal to be eaten that evening. Much less take the preparation time necessary to cook it.

Can you smell that food cooking with wonderful herbs and seasoning? I bet there is not a single person who would rather eat fast food or a Lean Cuisine over a nice home cooked meal any day.

A fine wine gets better with time.

Aged wine not only tastes better, but the smell is more robust. As a result, it is deemed more valuable. We get better with age and honor the wisdom of someone older. Why is that? Exactly, they have the many life experiences to speak to the cycles of life. Don’t believe me…Think back to your first heartbreak. Did you talk to someone older who probably told you something like, “Time heals all wounds baby.”

In that moment you thought you were going to die of heartbreak, but with each passing week you noticed that more days went by without being consumed with tears. Only wisdom affords you the beauty of perspective.

Nature Is Calm Versus Chaos

Ever feel like you are waiting for the other shoe to fall? Just when every thing seems to be going your way, the car breaks down or you have another unexpected life event. Ever notice that? It’s quite simple. Nature is always in a tug-o-war for balance.

The constant 21st century messaging would have you believe that you can take actions to stop this natural battle. The reality is that you can only take more steps to live in nature’s harmony, putting you in tuned with what will bring balance to your life.

Ancient philosopher Aristotle taught us that, “Nature abhors a vacuum.” In short, nature requires a space to be filled with something. As such, the notion of just being is almost laughable in the 21st century. Living naturally is not to suggest that we don’t enjoy technology and appreciate expedience.

Rather, I’m suggesting that we don’t always seek to fill a void in our attention with media and technology. Perhaps we take time to observe the lessons afforded us throughout nature’s life cycle. Said differently, listen to the natural, instinctive voice within.

Trial And Error Is Nature’s Theme

Trial and error is inherent in life. Much like a toddler learning to walk, each step teaches us. There will be falls and bumps along the way.

You can choose to appreciate and embrace the lessons to solidify your learning. You can also choose to attempt short cutting your lessons. Have you ever asked yourself why you keep dealing with the same issues over and over? If so, you’ve likely chosen to ignore that internal voice within that would have you make a different choice.

Living Naturally Summary

The 23rd verse of the Tao does a great job reminding us that there is a natural order and unyielding cycle of life. The focus of this post is to illustrate how much your choices can either walk you in accordance to natural order or create resistance to it. Either way, nature will balance your choice.

This chapter reminds us that changing your thoughts by living the wisdom of the Tao will help change your life by embracing life’s natural order. The chapter’s last paragraph suggests observing nature and identifying at least three ways you would like to be more natural in your response to life.

I’m struck by the very weather changes that I observed today…It was a beautiful summer morning full of chirping birds and sunshine. In a matter of hours, the clouds moved in with strong winds and persisting rain for a short time. Finally, another couple of hours ushered in clear skies and sunshine.

One of my personal natural observations and responses to life is best described by a famous idiom and quote:

“There is calm before the storm”

And

“Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” – Jack Ma

We hope you got value from this Living Naturally In The 21st Century post. Please share some of your nature observations and what natural response that you plan to incorporate in your life below in the comment section.

Then join us this Saturday June 4th at 10am EST, 7am PT for week 25 of our Saturday Morning Mastermind study of “Change your thoughts, change your life. Living the wisdom of the Tao” by Wayne Dyer

We’ll be discussing Chapter 23: Living Naturally

Need a copy of the book? Get one for as little as $6.95 plus s&h by visiting this link *http://goo.gl/L7ZnO2
*when you purchase the book through our link Powells book store will pay us a small commission for referring you. You’ll be supporting the Saturday Morning Mastermind and Mindset Mastery Collective. Thank You!