I like this photo of my friend, Paul, having a particularly intimate biophilic moment (I assure you no yabbies were harmed in the taking of this photo).
Speaking of biophilic moments reminds me of a wonderful character called Kenny Salwey who was featured in a TV documentary some years ago. Kenny was the last of the Mississippi River Rats – individualists who lived on the shores of the river, subsisting mainly by fishing and hunting.
Kenny understood the special bond we have with nature. At one point in the documentary, he made a remark along these lines, “There is something in all of us that makes us look up when we hear the call of Canada Geese flying overhead? What a precious legacy that is!”
I would be surprised if Kenny had heard of ‘biophilia’, but that is what he was talking about. And he was absolutely right in calling it a “precious legacy”.
Biophilia is precious because of the enormous value we can get from it. To follow the promptings of biophilia is to avail ourselves of a priceless array of benefits, which I think of as the gifts of the precious legacy. These gifts can be packaged and labelled in all sorts of ways but I talk about them as:
The beauty buzz (aesthetic pleasure)
Photo from the YBC collection
Relaxation
Restoration
Tranquillity
Photo from the YBC collection
Connections (with self, others and the cosmos)
Health
Photo from the YBC collection
An authentic childhood
You may be puzzled why fun, pleasure and perhaps other obvious benefits of being in nature are not mentioned. Be assured, they will be. Just stay with me as I ‘unpack’ the gifts in the postings to come.
(YBC = Yarrawood Bushwalking Club)
Leave a Reply