Forest Healing

 Forest Healing 

As a home educating parent I have watched with great curiosity as parents across the country respond in varying ways to ‘forced’ homeschooling due to the current pandemic. The most recent lockdown was met with a particular cry of frustration from parents lamenting the practicality of working from home with children present, the responsibility of home schooling and the stress of not being afforded ‘child-free time.’ At times like this we cling to our comfort zones, technology and the negative conversations we are so used to having with ourselves. However, in trying to avoid the spread of a disease, are we actually building unhealthy relationships, unhealthy homes and unhealthy attitudes towards learning?

For many families the forest is perhaps one of the most effective, accessible and easy means to rectifying a lot of this and here’s why:

The forest is the ultimate growth mindset.

Growth mindset?

I’m talking about Carol Dweck’s life changing theory. Whether we are talking about lack of motivation, struggling to establish positive changes in life or even experiencing mental health challenges – growth mindset is an empowering concept for us all to grasp.

The basic idea is that we either believe we can grow and improve as people or that we are stuck as discontent or incapable (the opposing fixed mindset). If we believe that we can grow, we approach our lives as scientists, experimenting, reflecting and trying something different. If something doesn’t go right, instead of finding ourselves in an emotional slump, we address the system of action which has failed for us and change the system without making it personal or painful every time.

So what has the forest got to do with this?

We know that wet soil, or soft ground, has a pinnacle of production. It’s peak brilliance is a fully fledged forest and if any such soil is left long enough, that is what it will be determined to grow into. The forest doesn’t just survive, it nurtures within it all those who spend long enough interacting with it.

How?

1.       It allows us to be human beings and not human doings. When my children are running free between the trees I’m not worrying about their next literacy objective or trying to entertain them away from screens and the fridge. I don’t need to direct them or contain them for my ease of living. Instead, I can just let them be themselves and follow their instincts which are a far more powerful tool of learning or growth than any of us could design. I can also observe and appreciate their unique personalities without worrying that they’re behind on this or won’t engage with that.  

 

2.       It teaches us to notice and embrace imperfection as a beauty of life. No tree is perfectly straight. No path is perfectly cleared. And yet there is a wonder and an excitement in that. For our children, it is a reminder that their physical bodies are made unique by their imperfections and their personalities can grow to make the most of the environment they are growing in. For us as parents, it is a reminder that we may not be perfect teachers from day one but our fear of Maths could actually allow us to empathise and support our children in a far more effective way.

 

    3.       It demonstrates the value and ease community brings.  Notice I say community. Not competition. Not comparison. If a child struggles in a particular area, instead of feeling insufficient and comparing themselves to others, they can see how the trees, grass, moss, fungi, plants, soil, dead plants, insects, sunlight and rain all interact with each other to make the forest flourish. In other words, if we are all good at different things that is a wonderful reason to come together to support one another in our different ways.

4.       By creating opportunity, it nurtures bravery. If a child chooses to wade through a stream, to climb a tree, to make a fire, there may be a part of that which terrifies them and yet the joy of the opportunity and personal drive keeps them going. Instead of constantly being forced, bribed or threatened into doing something they don’t want, they learn to push themselves beyond their own boundaries because some excitement or intrigue is driving them from within. You can be scared and brave at the same time and the best moments in life often require both.  

 5.       It trains us to pay attention to what is around us and inside us. If you follow the low dark paths and stay where the trees grow close together, you will find less life and less light on your route. Similarly, if your thoughts and words are low and dark, you will see the result of that in how easily your children give up, get frustrated or build a dislike towards themselves when everything isn’t in their control. Remember, we cannot help someone better themselves by making them feel worse about themselves.

 6.       It liberates us from seeking approval from others or worrying about what they think because the forest grows in its own way and it supports itself. The trees trust their leaves to capture the sunlight and the soil trusts the roots of the plant to get the nutrients they need. When our child have the freedom to get to know themselves in the forest they too can learn to trust themselves through life.

 7.   It encourages us to value the process and the journey over the end result. One of the biggest ways we kill the love of learning within our children is by becoming so consumed by the completed product or final grade that they don’t get to appreciate the richness of the process of learning and growth. When we walk through the forest, we don’t necessarily have a set destination in mind, but as we go we find joy and fascination in tree stumps, strangely shaped trunks, squelchy mud, fallen leaves and an ever growing list of delights.

 So when everything goes back to the new normal. Whether or not your children are back in school…

Allow yourselves and your families to grow with the forest.