Moving through Grief, Reconnecting with Nature

While meditating one morning at his urban home in California, Jay Dufrechou noticed that if he quieted the chatter in his head, he heard rain falling on the roof in a way that felt intimate and sacred. Quite unexpectedly, this brought weeping, along with grief. After “really hearing the rain,” Dufrechou left his city life and immersed himself in the natural world, moving with his young family to the Rocky Mountains of Montana. Wanting to understand his own experience more fully, the author gathered stories from over forty people who, like him, found themselves feeling profoundly moved in response to nature. Moving through Grief, Reconnecting with Nature shares a mosaic experience of longing for nature that is deeply personal and yet universal, it describes a return to nature that is also a return to our sensations and emotions – an opening of the heart. Joyful and sacred tears are portrayed alongside tears of loss and longing. Stories of the healing power of nature are shared from people who found nature their only solace during periods of bereavement. Indeed many of the experiences described in the book might be considered spiritual or mystical. A complex, nuanced, and powerful understanding of humanity’s deep psychological connection with nature emerges, raising the possibility that a psychological return to nature might help humanity face the pressing global challenges threatening the survival of many species on our planet, including our own.