Loving nature, as in everything and everywhere that has so far managed to avoid being excessively tampered with or exploited by human hand: the land, the sea, the sky (the atmosphere), the trees, the plants, the grass, the ground, the rocks, the insects, the animals, the fish, the birds and even the invisible elementals and other entities possibly sharing our space, comes naturally when we're loving ourselves. When we're loving being alive, despite its challenges and pain, when we're loving being here with everyone – and loving them you're also loving nature. Love is all-embracive – you can't just love one aspect of existence and be in denial of another. You're either loving it or you're not. The pay-off for loving it is it loving you back. Life treats you royally when you do likewise to it. But love isn't the same as like. You can love something or someone but not like it or them. Loving does not mean being nice, being good, being sweet, or approving or agreeing with anything or anyone. Loving does not mean desiring. Loving does not mean pleasing. Love is the prime fuel of the drive of nature to exist. Love is the exuberant outreaching of the Tao, the ineffable primordial consciousness (and energy) in manifest motion as it generates this universe. Love occurs when you stop preventing it. Relaxing the chest, 'opening' the heart center, relinquishing the psychophysical muscular armoring hitherto preventing love, love streams spontaneously and radiated ubiquitously and limitlessly, like a rich rose-gold vapor, a fragrant light that soothes and restores everything and everyone it touches. Embracing nature, in whatever form it manifests, whether, mineral, plant animal, human or so on, in your heart energy, closing nothing and no one out, doesn't mean you're obliged to like all aspects. To the contrary it's impossible to like all aspects. But not liking doesn't mean having to exclude someone or something from your love. Love is universal and eternal, liking is local and ephemeral. When you embrace the continuum of life in all its aspects it embraces you back. That's when you find yourself thinking, feeling and saying, 'I love this' no matter what. But practically speaking, if all or the majority of your time is spent in human-made structures and environments, straight lines, hard edges, solid surfaces, dark shapes, moving engines, metal, glass, electricity, noise and toxins, you're making it heftily more challenging to enjoy this cherished state to which you're entitled by birth as anything more than a pleasant notion. Conversely, the more focus you afford to the love-freeing process the more you tend to be naturally drawn to relatively unspoiled environments more of the time, or at least to disport yourself more frequently in the open air, appreciating the light and expanse of the sky, valuing the verdancy and dynamics of of the landscape, communing with the underlying mysterious subatomic force subtending the whole spectacle. The key is love – use it to open the door to the cage you'd unwittingly constructed around your heart and let the natural radiance of your soul stream forth freely and generously to all that is, walk with sensitivity and respect for all phenomena – and all that is will be your closest ally every step of the way. *** By The Barefoot Doctor Sign up for the Barefoot Doctor’s online Superhealing training