Nature of Heart

Wanda McGee

After growing up on a Kansas farm, I've lived most of my adult life in metropolitan areas of the East Coast. Life has been filled with writing and editing--newspapers, magazines, and more technical materials than a giant could stuff up both sleeves.

During a mid-life career change, I earned a graduate degree in Adult Education/Human Development and spent more than 20 years as both an internal and external consultant in the training and organization development fields. This involved working with a wide variety of organizations—private businesses, government agencies, community coalitions, and other non-profit groups. It also involved lots of writing and facilitation at the national, state, and local levels. Then I met a wonderful man, got married, moved to Florida, and went into retirement—sort of.

Invisible Currents

Craving a change of pace from a 9 to 5 job, I drew on my love of nature to complete Invisible Currents—Nature's Lessons for the Mind and Heart. The book had been percolating for many years.

In Invisible Currents--Nature's Lessons for the Mind and Heart, I've done my best to refrain from telling you what to think, feel, or do. This is my response to many management workshops where participants were cajoled and "motivated" to do things a certain way for "sure-fire" success. After reading Invisible Currents, one reviewer's reaction was that the book's title could have been, "Fire Your Consultants and Go Take a Walk." Interesting idea.

What's different about Invisible Currents? A situation observed in nature is described and you're challenged to discover your own meaning in the situation. The process is an invitation to think in a way that energizes your life.

A Sense of Place

 Invisible Currents is filled with personal reflections and metaphors that find lessons for life reflected in actions and scenes of nature. It was inspired by observing life in one of America's most visited national parks—the Chesapeake & Ohio National Historical Park in Maryland, which contains the remnants of the C&O Canal.

While living just outside of Washington, D.C., the Canal was a place of personal renewal for me. It provided a "sense of place" during struggles to make sense out of the chaos of life. and still does when I'm in the area.

Now, wherever I go, the sense of place goes with me. It encompasses all my experiences in nature. The tall grass prairies of Kansas, the Outback of Australia, the mountains of Colorado, the swamps of Florida--all evoke a sense of deep connection.

Invitation to share: Do you have a favorite place in nature that is especially meaningful to you? That gives you a sense of place? Feel free to offer your comments. Also, check out the Nature of Heart blog.


 Connected
 Cindy Mueller