Losing touch with nature

Riding in Delhi's smog

There is a pretty good Netflix documentary called Innsaei which means "intuition' in Icelandic. It explains that intuition is your own little internal computer which processes million of information to help you make decisions. Intuition uses a lot of information that we are not even consciously aware of, also called peripheral, i.e. outside of our focus. The problem is that, with screens, our mind is struggling to even access peripheral information because we are so riveted on the screen. In any case, many of us don't even listen to our instincts anymore any more, seeing it as something unreliable, unscientific. 

Another point the documentary makes is that we are retrieving from nature, mainly because nature around us is becoming - by our own fault - dirtier and less appealing. This is only exacerbating the problem because, by removing oneself from the problematic environment, one is less likely to deal with the issues and find solutions. 

This is really the case in a place like Delhi, where pollution levels are so high that many people - at least those who can afford it - live reclusively in their homes, windows closed and with air purifiers. 

I read recently (I can't remember where) that children today have never been so weak because they stay indoors and do little physical activity. All of this, of course, is linked. 

When I meet people and they find out I work with horses, they love the idea. Often, when I suggest they come over with their kids to see the horses, they are not at al interested. They say it's dirty, smelly, dangerous. They're not wrong, to some extent, and I'm not saying everyone should want to be around horses, but it's sad to be so afraid of dirt. And ironic given what we are, each of us, disposing so much trash onto the planet every day by driving around, opening plastic bottles etc. 

What Innsaei suggests is that we should go back into nature, we should get dirty. Only then will we find the strength, motivation, and more importantly urgency, to take care of our environment.