Humans have been on the planet for 300,000 years, and for 99.9 per cent of that time, we’ve lived in intimate contact with nature. But the vast majority of us have forgotten how deep that relationship was and have fallen for the lie that we’re not part of nature. This tragic disconnection has dire consequences, not least the ongoing climate and diversity crises. There’s also significant evidence that our loss of nature connection has negatively impacted mental health.
At least part of the solution to the triple crisis of mental health, climate, and diversity is rediscovering our relationship with nature. To that end, I’ve spent decades searching for ways to help people awaken to a deeper connection with nature—reading books, training with teachers, and immersing myself in practice. Approaches such as ecotherapy, forest bathing, Deep Ecology, mindfulness, and environmental psychology each offer value, but none have fully resonated with me.
In late summer of last year, I was out on a day-long walk when everything suddenly fell into place. I realised that there are just three simple keys to nature connection: slow down, get curious, and use all your senses. Ever since I developed this model, I’ve been testing it in my nature connection workshops and my personal practice. I reckon it’s pretty much foolproof! This model is as simple as it is powerful. What’s more, it provides a structure that all the other precious teachings I already have can hang on.
I don’t have the space to consider every model I know, but there’s one that invites comparison because it claims to offer Five Pathways to nature connectedness. This is one of the best-known models, based on research by environmental psychologist Miles Richardson and his colleagues (Lumber, Richardson, and Sheffield, 2017). I was aware of Richardson’s model when I developed the Three Keys, but it isn’t obviously influenced by it. I wondered if my model, which is simpler and isn’t based on psychology research, is as robust as his? Let’s see!
The two models map the same territory: our relationship with the other-than-human world. But they do that mapping in different ways.
Richardson’s Five Pathways are:
- Contact. This involves engaging with the natural world through the senses.
- Beauty. Take time to appreciate natural beauty. This can be through appreciating nature itself or through the arts.
- Meaning. Think about what nature means to you. Reflect on how nature resonates with your life and values.
- Emotion. Open yourself to experiences of awe, joy, wonder, and peace in nature. Reflect on your feelings about nature.
- Compassion. What can you do for nature? Recognize your kinship with other living beings. Embrace a moral and ethical concern for the natural world.
My Three Keys cover a lot of the same ground, but they work best when taken one step at a time. Slowing down is essential for a deeper connection to nature, and all Five Pathways depend on it. In our modern lives, we’re often so busy that we barely even notice nature. First of all, pause and give yourself space to truly be in nature, rather than rushing through it.
My second step is to get curious. Opening up your curiosity invites you to explore your emotional resonance with nature, wonder about meaning, and notice beauty. It also encourages greater engagement with others—human or otherwise—which facilitates compassion.
My third key is to use all your senses, which aligns with the first of the Five Pathways, ‘Contact’.
Every element in both models overlaps with the rest. Any one of the Five Pathways will support the others, and many nature connection practices will involve more than one of them. For instance, a simple daily practice like noting ‘three good things in nature’ can involve contact, beauty, and emotion. It’s the same with each of the Three Keys: they’re mutually supportive. For example, when you start to get curious, you’re likely to use your senses more and will often slow down. Likewise, sensory awareness is a mainstay of mindfulness, which is the essence of slowing down.
To some degree, at least, my Three Keys encompass all Five Pathways. A careful reader might think that the Three Keys don’t particularly facilitate compassion, the fifth of the Pathways. I agree, but as you’ll see at the end of my post, there’s a twist.
While these two models share some similarities, they operate in distinct ways. The language is particularly relevant. All Three Keys are verb phrases, whereas the Five Pathways are all nouns. Verbs are more direct, and the Three Keys are invitations to embodied action. In contrast, Richardson’s nouns present abstract categories. This highlights how the Three Keys work. Each one invites you into an experience, and while you’re having that experience, you encounter each one of the Five Pathways.
These two models complement each other: The Three Keys are accessible and action-oriented, while the Five Pathways provide theoretical conceptual depth and structure.
My new book, Nature Connection: Remembering Wholeness, uses the Three Keys to provide a practical guide. I’ve included nearly 70 exercises, most of which are linked with one of the Three Keys. As is often the way with projects like this, the book spoke back to me. As I wrote what I thought was the final chapter, something fresh emerged. I realised that the Three Keys open a doorway to awe and gratitude, which in turn inspires compassion towards others and the natural world. On paper, the Three Keys don’t especially deepen compassion, but experientially, they most certainly do.
