The natural world has inspired artists, seekers, and thinkers for millennia, but in recent times, as the pace of life has sped up, its demands have moved us indoors. Yet nature's capacity to lead us to important truths, to invigorate and restore our imagination and equilibrium, is infinite.
Step into Nature makes nature personal again by stimulating awareness and increasing our understanding of the environment. But being in nature doesn't mean flying off to remote, faraway places. Nature is as close as opening your front door-and opening your heart to the sky above, the miniature gardens that push their way up between the sidewalk cracks in our cities, and the small stream just down the road. Patrice Vecchione demonstrates how nature can support and enhance your creative output, invigorate your curiosity, and restore your sense of connection to and love of the earth.
Included throughout Step into Nature is "The Cabinet of Curiosities," exercises and suggestions for practical and unexpected ways to stimulate your imagination, deepen your relationship with nature, and experience the harmony between creativity and the natural world.
Patrice Vecchione is the author of Writing and the Spiritual Life, as well as two books of poetry. She is also the editor of many highly acclaimed anthologies for children, young adults, and adults. Vecchione has taught creative writing and collage workshops at universities, libraries, in community and spiritual centers, including Esalen Institute, and privately for over thirty years. She also teaches workshops outdoors through parks departments and recreation centers.
"Step Into Nature shows that in nature your imagination will embrace you with a feeling of happiness. Patrice Vecchione reminds us of the importance of caring for the places we love and how every step you take in the natural world will make you want to return again."
– Erick Higuera, marine biologist, conservationist, and underwater cinematographer