πŸ“š Watts Alan – The Universe Experiencing Itself
03. You Are the Universe

17. Nature as Your True Body

A reflection on remembering that we are not separate from nature but expressions of it β€” the Earth breathing, moving, and knowing itself through us.

2013-06-13 β€’ 3 min read

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Nature as Your True Body

> "You didn’t come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean, or a leaf from a tree." β€” Alan Watts

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The Idea of β€œNature Out There”

When people say β€œnature,” they often mean somewhere else.

A park. A forest. The mountains.

A place you visit when you have free time β€” a destination on a map.

But this way of thinking already creates a distance that doesn’t exist.

You are not in nature; you are nature.

You are as much a part of the Earth as the trees, the rivers, or the clouds above them.

Nature is not β€œout there.” It’s everything that is alive β€” including you.

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Your Larger Body

Take a deep breath.

The air entering your lungs was, seconds ago, part of a tree’s exhale.

What leaves you as carbon dioxide will become a new leaf tomorrow.

You are the planet breathing.

The food you eat, the water you drink, the heat on your skin β€” they are not just things you consume.

They are the planet nourishing itself through you.

You are a local expression of a much larger organism β€” the Earth as a living body.

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The Forgotten Connection

Modern life often hides this truth.

We live in buildings that block the wind, walk on concrete instead of soil, look at screens instead of horizons.

We think of ourselves as users of the world β€” managers of a resource.

But nature doesn’t need a manager.

It needs participants.

And the moment you remember that you are part of this living web, something shifts inside.

You stop acting like a visitor and start moving like a cell within a body.

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Feeling It Again

You don’t need to go deep into a forest to reconnect.

It can happen anywhere β€”

when you feel the sun on your face,

when you listen to the rain on your window,

when you notice how your own breathing matches the rhythm of the wind outside.

These are not small moments.

They are reminders of who you really are.

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The Message

You are not a creature walking on the Earth.

You are the Earth, walking.

You are not separate from nature β€” you are one of its countless faces.

> "When you touch the ground, the Earth is touching itself through you."