The Road Is Crossing The Forest
A necessary mindset shift for our times
Hello divine being,
The other day I stumbled upon this graphic, which sparked the inspiration for this newsletter today. To me, this is what defines this time on Earth. The road is crossing the forest, yet how many people only see the deer crossing the road?
When we begin to truly see our role on this planet, we see from the perspective that the deer aren’t crossing the road, the road is crossing the forest. This simple sentiment, in my eyes, describes the mindset shift that is needed to get us to the other side of the road.
There is nothing that separates us from the forest except ourselves. The more we build, contain, and destroy the more we widen the gap between ourselves and the Earth. Generations of children are growing up with their heads in the screens instead of in the dirt, and at the same time more children are growing up alongside parents who understand this sacred connection to Earth. For the most part, the choice is ours which road we take. There is no point in dwelling for too long on the tragedies we are facing in modernity, especially when perceiving the younger generations. The change begins with us, through our own education and connection to nature we will raise children who are happier in the dirt than looking at a screen.
In 2022 I was a freshly optimistic city dweller in NYC. I interviewed and started my “dream job” at an after school program for kids that combines art, meditation, and yoga. On paper, this job was absolutely everything I loved and saw for the future of classrooms. I felt so passionate about the mission and was deeply inspired to share these fantastic tools with young kids. However, on my first day reality hit.
I walked into a school on the Upper West Side to see a concrete playground with no sun, and a cafeteria with no windows lit up with the most headache inducing artificial light. At this point my spirits were still high as I made my way to meet the kids and the teacher I was shadowing. We gathered in the cafeteria and then made our way upstairs to a classroom to begin the art lesson. The kids could barely sit still or pay attention to anything. They were complaining about every little step in the process of the craft we were doing at the time. “Poor guy” I said to myself thinking of the teacher in charge. Yet as time went on, I began to feel a sadness and depression for the kids that I couldn’t shake. I started to think about the concrete playground and the cafeteria, the utter lack of space these children have to run around and be wild. As I continued to talk with the kids I started to notice how many of them have dark circles under their eyes and thought it was strange. At first I brushed it off, thinking I must just be extra perceptive, but as time went on and the sun began to set while we were still inside the classroom I realized that there was something very wrong.
Later, I began to think of an average day for one of these kids, they wake up around 6:30 or 7am to get to school before the sun rises. Then, they spend 8 hours inside of a building with artificial light, and maybe a little time out on the concrete playground that gets no sun. After all that, finally they arrive at our after school program, which is in the same building they’ve been in all day. So from 3:30-5:30, the children are still inside and don’t even get one look at the sun before it begins to set. Finally, their parents get off work and pick them up at 5:30, only to most likely bring them right back inside their apartment before starting the whole process over again.
Seeing how tired, angsty, and distracted these children were ultimately made me quit this “dream job” after my first day. I wasn’t strong enough to bare seeing these sun-deprived faces everyday. I knew if I took that job, it would leave too big of stains on my heart. Before that job I thought that meditation and yoga could solve most of our issues in society, but when I left the school that day I realized this is an issue no amount of meditation and yoga can fix. These cities, NYC in particular, were built in ways that makes it near impossible to stay connected to the Earth and her cycles. Whether the design was intentional or not doesn’t matter so much to me anymore, what matters to me is how we can heal and bridge the gap of our perceived separation to the Earth.
Without this profound and deep connection, we lose all the magic that makes this life worth living. The Earth is the most magical, awe-inspiring, and joy-filled place. To build square boxes and separate ourselves from Her is depriving us of our life-force. The Earth is the source of all life, when we begin to see the trees’ leaves blowing in the wind as a direct reflection of their aliveness, we too come alive.
After all these years of exploitation, destruction, and separation, we need to move forward with the collective mindset that is “the road is crossing the forest” or else I don’t see how we will make it out of this time alive as humans. With AI brain chips most likely to hit the masses in a matter of years, if we don’t get back to our roots as humans we are going to give up all the magic that’s inside us for artificial codes and bots that pull us away from our humanness. Greg Braden articulates this in greater depth in a fantastic way, so I will link a podcast episode below on this. He is a true advocate for humans being the sacred beings that we are, and he reveals how AI could simply strip us away of everything that makes us human. Here is a link to the podcast on Youtube:
Scientist’s Warning: Technology Inhibits Our Spiritual Power, But There is a Way Out | Gregg Braden
Although he doesn’t directly mention it, I know returning to the Earth is how we will cultivate unconditional love for all that makes us human, and we will begin to see how sacred we truly are. There is no greater way to combat the advances of AI, brain chips, and other robots than to simply take a walk in the woods or hug a tree. Even better, plant seeds in the Earth and watch them through their incredible cycles. A fantastic point Greg Braden brings up in his podcast is that the human body is absolutely perfect. We can heal ourselves and bring ourselves into greater harmony through what already within us.
We don’t need to look any further than the trees and plants in our very own backyards to understand what we are truly a part of. There is no need to do anything but observe with great presence and curiosity. The connection will come with time, for all of us. We all have ancestors that lived together huddled by fires at night, the remembrance is deep in our DNA…it just takes time to pull it back out.
Spending time close to the Earth reveals that we are absolutely already perfect in our divine design, no added technology necessary. Look at the wrinkles on your skin, feel the connection to the texture of a tree. Look at the lines in your palms and connect them to the veins of a leaf. Put your hand in a running body of water and feel the water pulsing throughout your own body.
The beauty of being a human on Earth is in the abundance, joy, light, and love that all beings on this planet provide us with. Each landscape, bug, bird, and mountain has its own sacred hum. The Earth provides us every single thing we need to thrive, and our bodies are already equipped with everything to maintain a balanced and harmonious state.
When we see the modern world, it’s clear that we’ve forgotten the wisdom and abundance of the Earth. It’s also clear that this is the time for us to remember. If we all felt Her abundance, we wouldn’t need to exploit or alter a system that is absolutely perfect. The forest, the desert, the ocean, the rivers, and every other source of life on Earth is not a place to exploit because there is no need, everything we need to thrive is already here. The beauty of today’s world is that we’ve evolved enough to be able to build wonderful homes that are aesthetically pleasing and can go back to the Earth. We know how to create from natural materials. We can garden and grow our own food. We have tools to chop wood to keep ourselves warm over the winter. We have herbs to heal every ailment known to man. As many humans are voicing during this time, these ancestral skills are the way forward. They are how we actualize Heaven on Earth and remember the safe haven that is this planet.
The Earth is already a safe haven. If we do the work to create inner sanctuaries now, we will witness them manifest on the outside. We will build communities full of people who support and love each other, and our children will grow up knowing what true compassion for all beings looks like.
Although these years may seem like they are dark, chaotic, and destructive, they are the years that are going to build our future full of light, love, and creation. It is an honor to be here to witness this time on the planet. Through my moments of confusion and fear, I remember this truth and everything settles. My heart fills with love, and I remember the wisdom of the Earth.
May we always keep in our hearts that the road is crossing the forest.
Much love,
Emilie
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A beautiful well written piece that I will share with many. Thank you for the hope you bring 🙏