“When we try to pick out anything by itself we find that it is bound fast by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken, to everything in the universe.”

~ John Muir

Let’s get down and dirty about the ways to love a nature girl!

1. It’s not about the granola.

Being a nature girl is not about just eating granola and saving the planet.

Sure, we want to do “good” (lowering our carbon footprint and bike and clothing swap and use cloth bulk bags and yell at Monsanto), but really, we want to explore. We understand that invisible connection (as Muir wrote) about our actions and the state of the world.

Yet we want to enjoy our world without a doomsday outlook.

We take pleasure in hiking the hills, kayaking in the coves along the Pacific, swimming in a mountain lake or even biking around our neighborhood.

Just ask, and we’ll take off an adventure with you (once we get the practical matters squared away—yes, nature girls don’t spend all their time looking at butterflies and wandering aimlessly as a cloud!).

2. Pick flowers.

Really?

Yes, go ahead pick us a bouquet of wildflowers or one single daffodil.

We love nature—bring it into our homes— and we’ll love you even more. Just remember to plant some more flowers or purchase them from a sustainable flower farmer.

That said, we prefer potted plants to flowers wrapped in plastic from 1-800 whatever.

3. Honor Our Altars

Most of us nature girls have an altar. A place where we leave trinkets and treasures of chert and jade that we find on our wanderings or hikes—reminders of our connection with places.

Sure, it may look like an odd collection that needs to be cleaned up, but don’t. You’ll be asking for trouble. Honor our awareness for place.

4. Recycle Words.

Tack up a little rope on the bathroom wall. Clip on some clothespins (don’t worry—we won’t be airing our dirty laundry).

Get ready to hang some sweet words.

Find one of your favorite magazines (National Geographic or Yoga Journal, though it’s not eco-printed)—rip out little ads or silly words. Scratch out some words—create a silly wake up poem or limerick—leave it dangling from that little rope for a morning surprise.

We’ll wake up dazed and delighted. We might even leave our own recycled notes for you.

5. Home-crafted Sweetness.

Ale, vino, olives, jam or candles. Give us a little gift that shows you can step it up a notch—live outside of the consumer world and create. We’ll even enjoy homemade granola.

6. Hold the drums.

Sure, drumming circles seem to resonate with the world of a nature girl, but we’ve heard enough bad rhythms. Haven’t you?

How about finding a new source of music?

Even playing the Bach station on Pandora may be earthy enough for us. Of course, playing songs by Po’ Girl, Jack Johnson and Florence and the Machine will work, too.

And, if you know how to play the banjo or the flute or the cello, then go for it!

Just don’t drum, unless you truly know how to create an intoxicating beat.

7. Let us get lost.

Honestly, we need to get lost because that is how we find ourselves.

We need moments of contemplating our “invisible connection” to the world and others (just as Muir did).

If you’re lucky enough to find those places where we go to get lost, then maybe we’ll let you hang out. Maybe, we’ll skip some pebbles, making wishes and jokes with each toss. Guess what, you will often find us at the edge. Don’t worry, we won’t fall.

After all, we are nature girls. Yes, we love standing at the edge: swaying in the branches of a madrone or a dangling our feet in a pond or sitting on a cliff along the Pacific.

Love elephant and want to go steady?

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Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photo Credit: Claire Ahmann/Pixoto