The Benefits of a Concrete Jungle

There is the potential for leadership, power and freedom in everything. To prove that, I asked my network to provide me a few random words to write about.

I got forty (40).

So, I’ve committed to creating 40 unique and original quotes, blogs or visual stories about the words on your mind.

Today’s word (really, it’s a phrase) is concrete jungle. It’s provided by K. Melanie, who of course, responded first and didn’t follow the specs. But that’s her go-getter personality. Why give one word when you can give two?

(The control freak in me has other opinions about that, but it’s not her turn to run things today.)

So, here’s the insight:

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If you’re someone who grew up with sun, water and trees everywhere, it can be hard to make the transition into a urban, city-based life. There is an innocence felt while you’re in wide-open spaces; you have a full-body experience of freedom, love and peace.

That’s not a coincidence. Your body is chemically aligned with the elements of nature. If it wasn’t that way, humanity wouldn’t be able to thrive on Earth. In fact, the movement towards space travel has a lot to do with the fact that our drive to produce bigger and faster things is changing the chemical nature of our planet. Continuing on this path will make the planet toxic to us, and we’ll have to leave it in order to survive.

But many of us don’t know how to stop working. Why not achieve more? Why not do more? What’s wrong with being better?

The word “better” can be a trap. Our search to innovate and improve is best served through the organic growth that is the natural result of being healthy. It is least served when we compare ourselves to others and push ourselves towards something we’re not ready for.

Places where urban life choked out green spaces like Chicago, New York, Philadephia, Detroit and St. Louis, are known as concrete jungles. People moved there because life close to the city was supposed to be better, but when you arrived you found more danger and less connection than where you came from. Instead of being someone special, you were one of thousands. The sense of freedom and space from your environment was now impeded by the hard surfaces of the buildings blocking the sun.

Now, you have to find your inner light.

Being in the concrete jungle puts a lot of pressure on your soul. You can either be crushed by it or become resilient. The trick is to remember that you were born resilient– but just like every good seed, your inner strength needs the right kind of soil to break ground.

The benefit of the concrete jungle is that if you allow yourself to bloom within it, you become the strength, the light and the green space.

Source: http://dulwichonview.org.uk/2012/06/22/wednesday-after-work-walk-undergrowth/

Or not. You decide.

What’s your take on this? Let me know by commenting below.

Next #wordblog: Empowered.