Grounded
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley October 5, 2021
Author Ruth Allen
Distributor: Allen & Unwin
ISBN: 9781787395862
Publisher: Welbeck/Mortimer
Release Date: March 2021
Website: https://www.allenandunwin.com
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How connection with nature can improve our mental and physical wellbeing
Grounded from Ruth Allen is more than just a book about nature and connecting, it is in many ways a story that offers a pathway back to a slower, better more conscious lifestyle that is something everyone can do and achieve by simply re-learning how to re-connect with nature.
Sounds simple but in truth, once it is accepted the busy life lead in the fast track world of today is the catalyst for ‘malaise’, an old fashioned word for feeling not all that well but not unwell the journey back to a more simplistic, holistic lifestyle has begun.
Ruth Allen shares her life journey to rediscovering something she had as a young child, always enjoyed, the great outdoors, nature at its most elemental, the mystery that lies right on the doorstep, should we take the time to simply be still and look; a big ask in today’s world, but one that is filled with nothing but positive benefits and all of them very cost effective.
Allen looks at her life from that of a young child who spoke to animals, read stories about animals and wrote stories about them, to a teen who was an activist, fighting against the oppression of animals and then as a geologist, a pathway she believed was the one for her.as it was about the earth, rocks, glaciers and so much more.
But it was not until she took stock about how she was living her life, why she was emotionally losing ground then taking herself back to nature, she began to appreciate that being back in nature, taking the time to be still, to listen to connect was the lifeline to a better way forward. It was not a cure, but a very positive way of being able to look honestly at what was troubling her and begining to build a better, healthier relationship with herself.
Allen looks at the fundamental aspects of connecting with nature, the positive benefits she discovered and has gone on to share this knowledge worldwide. She looks at Connection and how connecting with nature is good for us, Movement and re-engaging with movement, Stillness, and the wonderful grounding to be achieved by simply being still. Solitude, is something we are no longer comfortable with, but is of vital importance, Wild, as in heading into the wild, wide open spaces. Mystery to be discovered, then the most important of all Perspective and how to go about changing, becoming more grounded and far happier with life.
Throughout Grounded, beautiful photographs of nature help illustrate the subject matter under discussion, adding a gentle and soft influence to a wok that offers an alternative pathway to settling what is often a ‘crisis of the mind’ to allow a feeling of well-being and health to be the most important aspect of life.