I grew up in a small commune where each of us was responsible for some aspect of daily life. We learned to live in harmony with nature and with eachother. I found great enjoyment in learning how we as people began to mimic the natural flows all around us.

I have since joined the hussle and bussle of the "real" world and found that there is a disconnect between man and nature. I strive each day to make a connection, first to the natural flows I felt as a child and secondly to another person, hoping to bridge this gap and allow them to once again connect to that which pulses around us.

I know I sound kind of hokey, but I am a nature lover and a natural liver. I would love to hear the stories of others and how they connect with nature either through the outdoors or through the built environment.

I wasn't raised green and perhaps my recent acclamation to this new way of life has made me a bit of an extremist in some regards. I just decided that its not worth it to tear apart our planet and our species for the greed of the individual.

I think we need to return to a simpler life, a life where we work together for the greater good rather than running to nowhere on this treadmill of corporate, money hungry, materialistic greed.

I connected and still connect to nature by just leaving the "world" behind and venturing through a pristine environment without the aids of modern life. I try to become one with the trees, with the ground and with the air. I try to return my soul to nature.

this "green" ness you speak of has had many names from earth child, hippie to treehugger and so on. The new green will be no different. Maybe it will fade like the rest or become a niche market, but being "green" will lose its luster. There will always be those who strive to connect back with nature and define them selves as natural, but the real driving force is still green...... money.

da, sort of inflammatory don't you think. Sure there is a bit of a trendy component to being green right now, but this is the greatest critical mass that the "green" movement has seen to date. People, some not all, may be getting it now.

I myself found the spirit of conservation and ecological mindsets in college where I was exposed to other cultures and worlds that don't rely so much on electricity and energy to define everyday life. We live in a world of luxury held up by a thread and to ground ourselves in practices that rely on the earth and are respectful of its natural flows is to provide stability.

da, this greenness you speak of is the trendy application of what we should all strive to do. To live as one with the environment that supports us. Most, in fact the vast majority, of people walking the face of the earth remain ignorant to the destructive nature of their behavior. Greed and wealth and the pleasure there derived mask the dangerous futures that await us all if we do not make all attempts to stem the tide.

sustainable living is more than just a relationship with nature though. Its more than conservation, environmentalism, recycling, etc etc. Its about finding a total system of life that works without propping up the system with artificial measures. This means economics, government, trade, etc. Its a daunting idea to find a globally acceptable sustainable path. We can't agree on anything in a world where individual survival and wealth acquisition out weigh the survival and evolution of the species.

I agree that sustainable lives are so much more than the spouting or green mantras and conservation, but don't you think that the sheer complexity of the matter is a deterrent to most people?