The Motherhood Muse: Mother Nature

Mother. Nature .

Two words we grow up hearing linked together. They hold a certain mystic awe that quietly lingers in our minds over the years.

Mother Nature.

At times we as women may feel we understand her, know her intimately. At other points in our life we may only catch a wisp of some remote idea of what these two words mean.

We don't grow up hearing the phrase "Father Nature," so how does the name "Mother Nature" impact us as women and mothers? Do we feel a certain obligation to be intimate with nature? Are we carrying a responsibility to exhibit qualities of Mother Nature?

Mothers today range in their connection with nature. From living under the stars to watching the changing of seasons through windows, from growing butterflies with children to squishing every bug and spider in the pathway of children, from eating-breathing-sleeping a green life to telling a child the fast food hamburger he is eating comes from a cow... all mothers across the globe have a personal relationship with nature, unique in its depth, love and appreciation.

No matter what your connection is with nature, one thing is true for all mothers: we send messages to our children, and right now many of us might not be sending a strong enough message that a relationship with nature is valuable.

Parents, educators, other adults, institutions--the culture itself--may say one thing to children about nature's gifts, but so many of our actions and messages--especially the ones we cannot hear ourselves deliver--are different. And children hear very well.
- Richard Louv ("Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder")

We as women, mothers, and/or writers also need nature. With not enough hours in the day, nature may be pushed aside in order to get food on the table, do the laundry, write a few lines, or stay caught up on the latest technological inventions. We may feel a twinge of guilt in knowing that Mother Nature is somehow supposed to be expressed in us, our bodies, minds and souls. How can our children perceive it if we as women aren't completely giving ourselves the time and space to reconnect with nature?

We need nature just as much as our children do. And nature needs us.

Welcome The Motherhood Muse!

This is your first step in developing a stronger relationship with nature through your body, mind and soul by the visual sharing of literature on motherhood, nature and children. Although reading and writing on these topics may seem like a small step in reconnecting with nature, it is an important one because it expands our minds. Literature awakens our senses. It gives us the freedom to stretch our imaginations over the frontiers in our minds. And that is where we can begin to rediscover nature.

The Motherhood Muse is a community of women, mothers, and writers all coming together with one common interest: to pursue our connection with Mother Nature through literature and more in order to show our children the importance of nurturing our relationship with the environment.

Our community offers an exciting range of possibilities and resources! If you are interested in learning more please come back tomorrow for the details. In the meantime, be sure to check out The Motherhood Muse!