The Ecosystem of Relationships

Though we’re still more than a month away from the official start of winter, it seems to have arrived in Montana and with it, the end of the gardening season. I do still have greens chugging away slowly in the greenhouse but the rest of my garden has been put to bed and it’s time to retreat indoors. Activity gives way to dormancy, both in the garden and in my life. While it’s true that electricity, televisions, computers and cell phones have allowed us to live somewhat of an artificial existence, we can not deny the changing of the seasons. Winter invites us to quiet the mind and still the soul.
 
For me, winter has always marked a time to cozy up, to read, reflect, and to write, rather than the more "productive" action mode of the spring and summer. It’s actually quite liberating to look outside during the winter and not think of twenty things that I should be doing in the garden!
 
So in the spirit of some inward reflection, I am excited to share my latest video with you today. This is a little different from my past videos because it’s a webinar and conversation between me and my friend, Jennifer Williams. In the webinar, we discuss how ecological principles can be applied to our human relationships and invite you to reflect on how these principles play themselves out in your life.
 
Jennifer is the founder of Heartmanity, a center whose mission is to empower and heal relationships while arming people and businesses with the skills they need to thrive. Though she deals with the dynamics between people and I deal in the realm of plants,  we kept on coming up with parallels between the ways in which we garden and the strategies we can use in our personal relationships.
 
In fact, there are so many similarities between creating healthy ecosystems in our gardens and creating healthy relationships in our lives. Using five ecological principles that create healthy ecosystems, we delve deep into how these principles can be brought into the social realm, helping us cultivate thriving relationships with ourselves, our spouses, children and in our community.
 
Though it’s a webinar, you can also just listen to the audio. In it, we refer to a downloadable pdf that is available here. Listen to this webinar and transform your inner and outer landscape!
 
Then, I would love it if you shared what you thought in the comments below. Does this way of looking at relationships resonate with you?

Remember to download the worksheet here if you want to follow along with us!