Has Humanity Forgotten How to Listen to Nature?
Updated: 3 days ago
Nature has been teaching us for thousands of years. But somewhere along the way, have we forgotten how to listen?
I believe nature is one of the greatest teachers we will ever have.
Long before technology, weather forecasts and the conveniences of modern life, people relied on their relationship with the natural world to survive. They observed the movement of animals, the behaviour of birds and insects, the changing seasons and the subtle signs within their environment.
Nature was their classroom.
And in many ways, it still is.
The question I often find myself asking is whether we've become so busy living our modern lives that we've forgotten how to recognise what nature is showing us.
Nature Has Always Been Communicating
Think about how animals respond to changes in their environment.
Birds alter their behaviour as weather conditions shift. Ants respond to moisture, temperature and changes in their surroundings. Animals can detect environmental cues that we may not even notice.
These behaviours aren't necessarily predictions of what will happen. They're responses to conditions within the natural world.
But there's something remarkable about that.
Nature is constantly responding, adapting and communicating information through behaviour.
For generations, people learned to recognise these patterns through observation. Much of that knowledge was passed down through experience rather than textbooks.
Today, we have extraordinary technology to help us understand the environment. But I wonder whether we've lost some of our willingness to simply sit, observe and learn.
How often do we stop long enough to notice what the birds are doing, or consider the meaning of unexpected encounters with animals?
Or watch the insects moving through the garden?
Or recognise the changes happening around us before they become obvious?
Perhaps the information hasn't disappeared.
Perhaps we've simply become less attentive.
Our Connection With Nature
One of the things I feel strongly about is that humanity is not separate from the natural world.
We are part of it.
The earth provides the food that nourishes our bodies. Trees produce oxygen, provide shade and support entire ecosystems. Water sustains life. Plants, animals, soil and microorganisms are connected through relationships that make life possible.
Our relationship with nature also extends to the water we depend upon and the ground beneath our feet. I explore this further in Water, Earth and the Energy of Nature, including the physical and spiritual significance these elements can hold.
Yet we sometimes behave as though nature exists solely for our convenience.
We clear trees because they block a view.
We remove vegetation because it creates extra work.
We alter landscapes without always considering the creatures that depend on them.
And while there are practical reasons why land and trees sometimes need to be managed, I believe we should begin with respect for the life already there.
Our property is filled with gardens, trees and wildlife. My husband and I have always respected the fact that we're sharing this space with countless other living creatures.
To me, they have as much right to call it home as we do.
That belief has shaped some of the decisions we've made over the twenty years we've lived here.
Including one decision that people have questioned many times.
FROM THE TABLE
E102: The Veil Is Becoming Thinner — Messages the World Needs Now
Could humanity be entering a period of greater awareness and connection with the natural world?
In Episode 102 of The Mediums Table Podcast, Julie enters a deep trance state to share messages from her spirit team about changes they believe are unfolding across the Earth and humanity.
The conversation explores a renewed relationship with nature, deeper connections with animals and the possibility of increasing communication between the physical and spiritual worlds.
It's a thought-provoking companion to the questions raised in this article about whether we've forgotten how to listen to nature.
▶ WATCH ON YOUTUBE
The Gum Trees We Refused to Cut Down
We have some enormous old gum trees on our property.
Over the years, numerous tree loppers have encouraged us to remove them.
Some have suggested they could fall during a storm. Others have pointed out that their branches shade our solar panels.
But I've always refused to have these beautiful old trees cut down simply for convenience.
My reasoning is straightforward.
They were here before I was here, and I will not cut them down.
These trees provide shade during our hot Australian summers. They help keep our home cool. Their branches shelter birds and other wildlife, and their presence supports the natural environment around us.
I look at them and see far more than timber, leaves and branches.
I see life.
And for years, I've had a saying that I often repeat to people: "If we look after the trees, the trees will look after us."
I never imagined how deeply that saying would resonate with me after one particular night.
The Night the Biggest Tree Fell
One year, we experienced a terrible cyclone.
During the night, we heard an enormous crack.
We knew immediately that a tree had fallen somewhere on the property.
The following morning, we discovered that the biggest gum tree on our block had come down.
This tree was enormous. I couldn't have wrapped my arms around its trunk. Standing beside it, I looked tiny.
And when I saw where it had landed, I could hardly believe it.
The tree had fallen neatly beside our house.
Had it fallen slightly further to the right, it could have destroyed half our home.
A little further to the left, and it would have blocked the main road leading in and out of our estate.
Had it fallen in the opposite direction, it could have crushed our shed and vehicles.
But it hadn't.
Everyone was safe.
Our home was safe.
And the tree had fallen into the space between everything that could have been damaged.
I stood there thinking about all those years we'd protected these trees, despite being encouraged to remove them.
And I remembered my own words.
If we look after the trees, the trees will look after us.
I can't tell you that the tree consciously chose where to fall. I have no way of knowing that, and I'm not presenting it as something I can prove.
But I can tell you what that experience meant to me.
It reinforced something I had believed for a very long time: that our relationship with nature deserves respect, gratitude and consideration.
We had cared for those trees because we valued their existence.
And on that extraordinary morning, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude that we had all been spared.
What Does It Mean to Listen to Nature?
When I say that nature speaks to us, I'm not necessarily suggesting that trees communicate through words or that every animal encounter carries a spiritual message.
I'm talking about something broader.
Listening can mean observing.
It can mean recognising patterns.
It can mean noticing how an environment affects us physically and emotionally.
And from my perspective as a medium, it can also mean being open to the possibility that our connection with the living world extends beyond what we currently understand.
I believe consciousness and connection may be far more expansive than we realise.
That doesn't mean we should interpret every natural event as a message intended specifically for us.
But I do believe there is value in remaining curious.
What happens when we spend time among trees without our phones?
When we listen to birdsong instead of filling every quiet moment with noise?
When we observe an animal rather than immediately reaching for a camera?
When we begin to appreciate that the living world around us has its own rhythms, relationships and ways of responding?
Perhaps we begin to notice things we've overlooked for years.
Nature Doesn't Exist Simply to Serve Us
Something else I believe we've forgotten is that our relationship with nature should be reciprocal.
We depend on the natural world for survival, but that dependence comes with responsibility.
If trees provide us with shelter, we can protect the habitats they create.
If the earth nourishes us, we can consider how our actions affect the land.
If wildlife shares our gardens and surroundings, we can make room for those creatures rather than treating them as an inconvenience.
This doesn't mean never removing a dangerous tree or never changing our environment.
Responsible care sometimes requires difficult decisions, including professional assessment of genuine safety risks.
But there is a difference between thoughtful management and removing something simply because it doesn't suit our immediate preferences.
I believe that difference matters.
For me, respecting nature begins with recognising that other living things have value beyond what they can provide for human beings.
Have We Forgotten Something Important?
I sometimes wonder what future generations will lose if we continue distancing ourselves from the natural world.
Will children grow up knowing how to recognise the calls of birds?
Will they understand the importance of insects, trees and healthy soil?
Will they experience the wonder of watching wildlife in its natural environment?
Or will much of that knowledge become something they encounter only through screens?
Spending time with my young granddaughter recently has reminded me how naturally children respond to the world around them.
They notice the smallest things.
They ask questions.
They find wonder in experiences that adults often walk straight past.
Perhaps we have something to learn from that curiosity.
Perhaps reconnecting with nature doesn't require us to discover something entirely new.
Perhaps it begins with remembering how to pay attention.
Learning to Listen Again
I don't believe nature has stopped teaching us.
The birds are still singing.
The insects are still responding to their environment.
The trees are still supporting life.
The seasons continue their cycles, and the earth continues providing what living beings need to survive.
We have an extraordinary amount to learn from the natural world, both through scientific understanding and through our own direct experiences.
And for those who feel a deeper spiritual connection with nature, there may be additional questions worth exploring about consciousness, awareness and the relationships between living things.
We don't have to agree on every interpretation to recognise the importance of that connection.
What matters is that we don't lose our willingness to observe, question and care.
Because I believe one of humanity's greatest losses wouldn't be that nature stopped communicating with us.
It would be that we forgot how to listen.
Have you ever experienced a moment in nature that made you stop, pay attention or feel a deeper connection with the world around you? I'd love to hear your experience.
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