In this excerpt from her book, 'The Nature Embedded Mind', Julie Brams challenges the assumption that cruelty and ecological destruction are simply “human nature.” She suggests instead that modern behavior reflects a civilization built on separation from Earth. By reclaiming a “Self-as-Earth” awareness, she argues, we can restore belonging, responsibility, and the possibility of sustainable culture.
Much of today’s social and climate justice culture focuses on change—yet often skips over the loss that comes with it. It’s okay to grieve what we’re leaving behind, even if it was flawed. It’s okay to feel conflicted. There’s a call for a softer approach to change—one that makes space for paradox, complexity, and the full spectrum of our emotions.
Mum received a diagnosis of schizophrenia when she was in her teens and growing up I used to think of her as “my secret”. After a long spell in hospital Lydia was institutionalized in 2004. I’d enter her room with “Hi Mum” and be promptly dismissed as she ranted her demand I leave. One day, I decided not to leave
"For years after the miscarriages, I felt barren and broken by the loss, shame, and guilt. There was a ragged, dispossessed part of me that I couldn’t shake. Here in the cold spring dampness of Kōya-san, my loss and grief were acknowledged and shared...I sensed that those in the cemetery around me understood and made space for the grieving to be and to breathe.”
“My son Dusty was twenty and I was forty-six when I realized I was not, and had never been, the straight female that I presented to the world. The cultural fabric of South Dakota, where I grew up, was hostile to the very essence of my secret identity as male.”
“My own life now lies scattered across the floor. But I know that the bridge between the breakdown of everything I thought I knew and the other shore that waits for me can only be crossed with a willingness to see Jon and myself anew.“
“Clearly if we are to truly Awaken and come together in deep Brotherhood in the 21st century we cannot return to the mythic dogmatisms and patriarchal rigidities of traditional masculine culture and we also want to transcend the materialistic bias of the modern male rational mind.”
An eco-anxiety response is common--almost a way of life. But are we sure that the eco-anxiety that has become normal for many is our best response to the crises we face?
It has been one year since the 2020 derecho decimated this part of the Heartland. The 90,000 sq. mile swath of intense, sustained winds devastated over 65% of the mature tree canopy in the Cedar Rapids corridor.
To care for the earth, one must feel bonded to it. Many do not. Nature immersion from a young age avoids this ‘nature deficit disorder’ that is now rampant among children and adults in the USA.