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Written by Bob Guyer
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The individual is irrevocably interconnected with the environment. We are literally made of the environment on the physical level; water, air, and soil are us. When our individuality is experienced with little acknowledgement of our non-separate self it seems as if the earth is our garden. The earth then becomes something like an extension of our needs, something related to primarily from the perspective of being something useful to us.
When the non-separate aspect of our existence is acknowledged it becomes apparent that we are a part of the earth’s garden. Applying both perspectives fully to our relationship with the environment provides a realistic starting point for developing our appreciation of the natural world. We are both the gardener of the earth (by virtue of being highly self conscious) and a plant in the garden of the earth in equal measure. How do we reflect that view in our behavior relative to the rest of nature?
The ability to increase the scope of human consciousness is predicated on physical survival. Physical survival is completely dependent on the ability of the earth to provide nutrition to us in the form of water, plants, and other animals. Developing a relationship with the natural environment that is mutually beneficial and sustainable is the only realistic way for human life to be structured.
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Living Earth 
