LOOSE PARTS!
I think it’s all about loose parts.

That's what the experts are declaring. Free and random play with the loose parts of nature will bring the benefits of nature into your whole being.

    The natural world provides many loose parts.  The intelligent design of nature is infinitely complex and appears to our finite minds as random and chaotic.  Rocks, meandering streams, unplanted seeds, twisted branches, migrating birds, mud, wind and all of the other elements found in nature provide us with these loose parts.  It is an endless supply.


   You don’t have to go out into the Yukon either.  Free play in a clump of trees near your house, a city park, or even a drainage ditch can begin to provide some of the healing qualities of nature.  Obviously, we should always strive to “kick it up a notch” and go deeper into the natural world. The activities can be as simple as watching birds frolic or climbing a tree; or as complex as climbing Denali.


    These loose parts draw us into random play, creativity and imagination.  All five of our senses (actually six - Read "Used TP Tube" below) become engaged and stimulated.  When that happens, our brains start to function differently.  Some studies have proven, and many others suggest, that exposure to nature can transform our lives for the better in countless ways.

    Our families and communities are suffering from NDD (Nature Deficit Disorder) due to the increasing disconnect from nature.  But this disorder can be reversed now!  Growing numbers of agencies and individuals are currently discovering this for themselves.


    Children improve in areas of self-esteem, creativity, cognitive skills, social skills, physical health.  Test scores go up. The list of benefits keeps growing.


    The mental health community is sitting up and taking notice too.  Therapy by exposure to the natural world has had shocking results to doctors and parents. Kids with ADHD (and many other types of challenges) respond positively to this type of treatment.  A growing number of these children are having their medications reduced or eliminated altogether. That is not even half of it!


   Adults benefit greatly as well. Time with nature lets your brain “relax” while you play, explore and discover.  There is much more technical ways to say it but I’m just giving you a small taste.
 

    Many doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, substance abuse clinics, judges and correctional programs are starting to learn that exposure to nature is getting better results than any other approach they’ve been taking. After all of this time, all we had to do was go outside and enjoy the loose parts that nature provides. This is universal with children, teens and adults of every age.


    Parents, teachers, therapists, Christian youth leaders, social workers, lawyers, city planners, you name it -- everyone should read, LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS, by Richard Louv.  This article does not even come close to the mind-blowing research that he has done on the subject of reconnecting with nature. Every facet in society has a role to play.

    I urge you to check your local library or buy a copy now. We can eliminate Nature Deficit Disorder in the lives around us today.  Get outside and enjoy Creation for a change!

Waterfall

USED TOILET PAPER TUBE


      A brilliant instructor had her group show up with empty toilet paper tubes for an activity.  They brought them not knowing the purpose.
 

     The time came and she called one person forward and asked him to get down on his hands and knees on the forest floor where he was standing. Curious and bewildered looks were exchanged by all.  Then she said, “Now hold the tube over one eye, don’t move it around and tell me what you see”.  He paused for a moment (trying to come up with something, anything) then gave up and said, “Uh, um, dirt?”  She smiled and said, “Look again, really LOOK, observe, and take everything inside you.  Describe every detail within your view.” He tried again.  “OK, well there are tiny pieces of stone, bark, leaves…” She urged him on, “Describe what you SEE?”  “Ok… cool! One of these little pieces of stone is blue, I mean really blue” He perked up and looked at her and said “How would this get in the middle of the forest?”


     She just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Looking back down, clutching the paper scope he exclaimed, “Oh wow! Look at this, there is a little, cool looking beetle.  He’s dead and all but it’s metallic green!”  “Metallic green!?” blurted out from a voice in the group, “let me see!” Soon the whole group is gathered around looking at a dead bug in amazement (…and there was no doubt. It was indeed metallic green, almost neon.)


      Something clicked inside everyone.  Eager for more they turned to the instructor. (I am envious of the feeling she must get every time she witnesses this sort of transformation.) This wise instructor continued, “Tiny, insignificant details are neither tiny, nor insignificant and rarely boring.  Just focus on the little things around you. Now everyone, take your tubes and spread out, absorb yourself into what you see, don’t identify and categorize, only experience and describe.”


     One young woman was staring intently through her tube close up to the side of a tree. Another young man was hunched over a mossy rock.  Even though it would have looked ridiculous to someone approaching the group, there was this amazing feel of excitement and discovery in the air.


       After sharing the day’s activity with one another you would have thought they had just discovered the cure for cancer or something. I am impressed at the simplicity of this wisdom. The instructor mostly, just observed. 

      When it was time to start collecting their things for the short trek back to civilization, the instructor asked, “That was neat, huh?” “Today you learned to really open you eyes to the wonders around you.”  It was then that she said the most profound thing of the entire experience. She tilted her head with open palms raised, as if it was no big deal (this… epiphany of sorts) and added, “This was just a start… you haven’t even began to use your sense of touch, or smell, or sound, or taste, or even your heart in this way.” The silence was almost deafening as she continued, “Try and imagine what beautiful and awesome wonders await you from this day forward.  Take time to develop ALL of your senses, especially the sixth one... your heart."


         I now view the world through all “six”, sharper senses… all because of an empty roll of used toilet paper! One square foot can become a universe of discovery. 

      Once, on an island in the South Pacific, I took scuba gear to the beach to explore the ocean, beyond the reef, in the “Big Water”.  I waded into the shallows inside of the reef only a few yards from shore and began thinking of that TP tube.  My friends arrived and I sent them on without me. The abyss would still be there tomorrow. On an air mattress, I just started to float around on my stomach staring into sixteen inches of water.  I can’t effectively describe to you the amazing things I saw that day, nor even the years that followed as I had opportunities (here and there) to trek a “ziggy” path around this awesome globe.
 

     You should grab used roll of toilet paper and head outside.  Take an extra one for a child with you too!  Learn to use ALL of your senses in the same way and the world will unfold before you.

Richard Louv
Coyote's Guide
Sharing Nature with Children

Nature Connections
Loose Parts & TP?
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