The Kent State Greenhouse is a portal to another world. I feel it’s a place to find an inner sanctum of peace in our too busy, rat race world. Day to day, we separate ourselves from our higher source found in nature with so many man-made boundaries. It seems like we’re stuck in the social media mind space, glued to the television or just shutting ourselves inside, despite of the welcoming spring weather.

We are partners in creation with nature. We spend time in it, cultivate it and even try to understand how we are a part of it, because it is essential to discover the meaning behind the human creation. It proves to anyone willing to spend time outside that life is more than passing tests and making a living. It reminds us of the parts of life that make it worth living.

From a recent experience, I’ve come to realize that nature is where humans can have genuine communication. Where we are not sidelined by distractions of the lit screen, blaring music that’s impossible to talk over or the inflexibility created by a minefield of distractions.

About a week ago, I visited my sick grandmother in West Virginia. After chatting and reminiscing with my grandmother, we spent time talking by the river and the woods surrounding her house. I had been repressing the worry for my grandmother for the last few weeks, and while looking through the forest for flowers to make a bouquet to cheer up her up, I lost the keys to the car in the forest.

Combined with the exhaustion from our trip, we both panicked and spent hours looking for her keys. Even though it was a tense situation, it was real. Nothing was hidden, no emotion was held back. We both shared tears, laughs and connections.

During that time, I learned that nature is a place where we return to our most authentic self instead of the everyday masks we’ve become used to.

So take some time to reclaim your sanity and smell the flowers. Go out to help nurture some nature of your own and buy a plant from the Kent State Greenhouse sale next week. Learn how to take care of it and understand from this experience: We all have a role to play with Mother Earth.

Dylan Webb is a columnist for The Kent Stater. [email protected].