A whole new mind

Everything happens for a reason...

Usually, Katharine and I put aside a day to put our naturebags together, and we stand around the table and chat away while assembling the naturebags.  This is such a nice time we spend together.  However, today, Katharine is away and I find myself alone in this task.  So I set up my computer on the table and turned to Oprah's Soul Series to keep me company.

I had read Daniel Pink's book:  'A whole New Mind' a few months ago and found it fascinating.  In Oprah's interview, she chats with Daniel Pink about how our world of abundance has brought about the search for more meaning in our lives and how the use of our right brain will be essential in the future.

It got me thinking about our children of course.  How do we prepare our children for this changing world?  Once again, many of the answers seem to come from the simple things.

Daniel Pink talks about the importance of design in everything we use and see.  How we need to communicate using stories, how we need to play and laugh in our lives.  We need to have empathy and symphony as well to look at the big picture.  In our search for meaning in our lives, what better place to cultivate all these attributes than outdoors in nature!

By making a colourcard, we show our children the beauty of design.  We can choose a perfect 'sit spot' outside and encourage our children to write a story about what is happening in 2 square inches right in front of them.  We play together and laugh together more openly outdoors and we can have conversations about all our extraordinary experiences.

The world is changing and encouraging our children be creative will prove vital to their future.  Take them outdoors, there is no where that you will find more beauty and creativity than in nature...