Nature Deficit and Zombie Intuition

This weekend, I was blessed with a trip to Springfield, MA for a dance competition with the girls and their dance team.  Cities, even small ones, are not my favorite places, as you might imagine.  While there, I had the opportunity one evening to walk to a nearby pizza place.  I was struck as I walked by a city bus station by the piped in sound of birds.  I assume it was piped in, becuase I could not find the source of the song, in spite of looking around.
I have started reading Nature's Way.  This book with definitely require a second, and maybe third, reading.  The lessons are so simple and yet so deep.  The second chapter discusses the need for a connection to nature for learning life lessons.  With this echoing in my head, I started noticing things in this urban setting.  First, I remembered the bird sounds.  Why would anyone pipe in bird sounds into a city park?  What purpose does it serve?  Obviously, my logical mind was struggling with this.  Perhaps, there is a more profound reason ... something deeply seated in all of us.  Something that touches us all on some deep intuitive level.

Later, while loading all of our stuff into the car, I stopped to look at the pictures on the walls of the lobby.  Something struck me.  All of the pictures were taken in nature, autumn leaves, trees through several seasons, natural settings and scenes ... nothing man-made.  They were lovely. 

Then, as I helped the director load her car, I noticed a display.  On one of the walls, cubby holes had been built.  In several of them, a cut of tree had been placed.  I had to touch the trees ... to connect.

What purpose could these serve?  Why these?  Why not Dr. Seuss, a native son, scenes?  Then, a light went off.  Perhaps, I thought, our zombie society, our zombie culture, is not unrecoverable.  Maybe, the zombies are a bit less gone and their instinctual, intuitive awareness still lives.  Can we save them, save ourselves?

I walked through the mall to get some drinks to keep the girls from dehydrating during their hours of workshops.  I noted, with some amusement, several empty shops.  I wondered if the hard ecoomic times are driving a resurgence in natural awareness.  Or, is it simply coincidence?  Are we as a society becoming aware as part of a change? Has the 100th monkey become aware and as a society we have recognized the error of our ways ans are making the changes necessary to start living in concert with the Earth.

As I continue on this MooseBoots path, I am often heartened by the fact that some many others seem to be on their own awakening.  I look forward to my growth as a person / spirit.  I look forward to sharing the wisdom I gather.  I also look forward to sharing in the wisdom others have gathered.  Do you have some small piece of wisdom to share?