With loving, there’s vulnerability. The reason so many of us are feeling so much grief about the state of the earth is because we love this planet. We love the creatures here, the species here. We love our favorite woodlands and prairies, meadows and creeks. And we feel tremendous loss. It’s part of the reality of this era. With love comes caring for that which we love, and feeling the hurt that’s being done to that which we love. There’s now a term, “solastalgia,” which means the grief and sadness we feel when we go into a place in nature that we love, and we know it’s being destroyed. This is an increasingly common experience.
Mark Coleman
Spirit Rock Residential Teacher
Mark has trained extensively in the Buddhist tradition. He is a senior teacher at Spirit Rock, an author, and has taught insight meditation since 1997. Mark has led wilderness nature retreats worldwide for two decades and leads year-long nature meditation teacher trainings in the US and Europe.