THE EIGHT MASTER LESSONS OF NATURE

Eight lessons about getting back in touch with nature and “befriending the powerful emotions that nature often ignites in us.”

In his latest, longtime nature writer Ferguson (The Carry Home: Lessons From the American Wilderness, 2014, etc.) explores how “the natural world remains a ready source of essential lessons, each one helping us better understand what life really needs in order to thrive.” The author focuses his tranquil narrative on eight useful lessons that we learn from nature that teach us how to live in harmony and balance with the world around us. It’s important to embrace the boundless mystery and wonder of what we know—and what we don’t—and we must also appreciate the vast dynamic webs of connection in nature, collaborative networks that permit the system as a whole to thrive. He then sings the praises of biodiversity. “The more players there are in a natural system, the more vibrant those players will be, he writes. “And also, the more resilient the system will be in the face of change….This beautifully rich and robust planet is in all seasons nothing if not a constantly unfolding testament to the essential power of diversity.” Ferguson goes on to plumb the ancient wisdom of the matriarch and the imbalance and unsustainability that come from moving through the world with only masculine energy as a guide. Despite the fact that he is often communing with the mystical, Ferguson cuts with a sharp knife on such topics as the commonality we share with animals, keeping what’s most essential from perishing, the wisdom that flows from mature adults to the less experienced, nature’s love of efficiency, and the beauty of nature itself, “a gentle nudge to get us happily out of our self-centeredness and into the wonder of being in and of it all.”

A mellow, meditative book for nature lovers and those who want to reconnect with the world around them.