Yes I do. And it keeps me sane – a walk in the woods or a cycle along the river to start or end the day, makes sure I don’t get ‘growly’.
I spent a day last week in the woods, in the company of other creative folk, doing what we do (photographing, filming, painting, posing, creating) and just being in each others company, in nature. I came away inspired, and thrilled – feeling the magic with other creative people somehow made it even more special. It came up in conversation at the end of the day though, that nature words have been removed from the dictionary – including ACORN. What. The. Fuck? Acorn? really? I asked my good friend google, and it’s not the full dictionary, but the Oxford Junior Dictionary – the one for little kids, who will be picking up an acorn and saying to the grown ups ‘what’s this?’. If these words are taken out of the junior dictionary now, who’s to say they won’t be taken out of the hefty grown up’s dictionary in the future?
Apparently the decision is taken by how often words are used – but I believe that the ‘use’ is from some kinda google algorithm, which I assume will be online or print use. It’s these kind of words which are used in conversation, not necessarily in written language, which will be lost over time. This makes me sad, and angry, and confused, and disappointed and tired.
I’m working on some artwork about it, but in the meantime here’s a piece I wrote with my lovely husband Owen Thomas, about nature. It’s in print form in my colouring book – I have couple left here if you fancy one to pass on to the little folk…
Nature defines us. What we are. Who we are
We live it.
We eat it.
We breathe it.
Without nature, we are nothing.
Being creative is nature’s way of working itself through us, helping to put our thoughts and dreams into the world. It is the same silent energy that moves along the stem and into the colour of petals.
Music, art, poetry and dance are all essential elements of a hip-hop culture in a modern world.
Because, yes; we live in a modern world, but we are not so far removed from our ancestors. Why is it that we enjoy getting ‘back to nature’? Our love of simple things; hanging out in the park, camping, walking through the woods with friends? It reminds us of what we are, where we came from, and, more importantly, it re-energises us, reinvigorates the soul. We drink in our surroundings and connect with living things. We close our eyes and remember that we are but part of a bigger picture.
Listen to the birds of the air, putting their own creativity into the world, in the same way that we do when we paint, we rap, we dance or make music. They are expressing their own true and instinctive selves. Nature is how we do this. Our connection with nature is our key link to our innermost self.
Embrace it, live it, enjoy what it offers, but remember that one day, at the end of it all, when the last grain of sand drops away from what made us, us, we, every one of us, will go back, back to nature.
And our essence, what made us who we were, what made us unique as individuals, will run like the colours on a palette board, back into the nature that created us, that sustained us, that united us.
We owe nature all, and must use our talents in whatever form they manifest to show our respect.
