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	Sharing Nature with Children, Volume 2 Stage Four: Share Inspiration "A joy shared is a joy doubled." -Goethe At the end of Stage 3, the players feel calmly exhilarated. They're now open to hearing stories that portray the noble ideals of the great naturalists, conservationists, and ecologists. They're in the right mood for activities that bring out nature's heart-warming, beautiful, and uplifting side. Now is a good time, also, to let people talk about their earlier experiences while playing the games. Sharing reinforces the players' sense of wonder and draws the group together. The simple activities of the Inspiration stage also bring a sense of closure and wholeness to the day. The leader finds out what people have been thinking and feeling while they've played the games, and this stimulates lots of good ideas for leading future sessions. The games and activities of the Inspiration stage are very simple. In Tree Imagery, for example, the players visualize themselves becoming a tree. They then experience the tree's life during one whole year's growth cycle. Tree Imagery ends with the players lying on their backs looking up through the branches of a deciduous tree. Having passed through the inwardness of winter and the renewal of spring, the group feels calm and energized.  After they've enjoyed lying on their backs watching the swaying branches, I ask the "trees" to sit up and express in three words, three phrases, or a single sentence what they've experienced during their year as a tree. Here are some of the statements people have made: "I felt nourished by the sun, and felt I was giving back to the forest life around me." "During the winter, my roots made me feel secure and unafraid, no matter how hard the wind blew." "Vitality...a sense of community...renewal." You could ask people to pantomime something they've seen or felt during your time together. They can act it out and have the others guess the meaning, then tell the meaning aloud if no one guesses correctly. If the group has become close and has experienced beautiful moments together, the sharings can be very powerful. After leading a Flow Learning session, I sat at sundown with a group at the edge of a vast marsh. We watched the sunset for a long time, then did the pantomime activity just after the sun had gone down.  A twelve-year-old girl climbed to the top of the levee, turned toward us, and clasped her hands above her head, holding her arms in a circle. She stood there a moment smiling, then slowly walked backward down the other side of the levee. Her rendition of the sunset was so perfect that it touched everyone, reminding us of the beautiful moment we'd shared.  Often I've been amazed at how these sharings tend to bring out beautiful qualities in people. This was the case with one of the most challenging classes I've ever led. The group consisted of 30 English teenagers from a London inner-city slum. Some had fluorescent spiked hairdos. Others had safety pins stuck through their cheeks and slogans like "KILL" scrawled on the backs of their jackets. I'd never before worked with a group quite like this one! I was surprised and pleased to see how even these hardened teenagers became caught up in the challenging, experiential Flow Learning games. At the end of the session, they seemed to have forgotten their tough, defiant roles, their cynical attitudes softened by feelings of connectedness and harmony which they'd received through the nature experiences. In this case, it was very important to provide an opportunity for sharing. The teenagers told of their deep feelings of appreciation and concern for the earth. Their teacher said it had been a long time since she had seen them open their hearts and treat one another with respect. You can end your outing with nature stories and tales from the lives of the great naturalists. I especially enjoy telling the story of Elzeard Bouffier from the book The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness, which recounts how one man single-handedly brought a dying land back to life. I also love to tell stories from the life of John Muir. You'll find stories from Muir's life especially powerful for inspiring people to live more idealistically. Children love to hear about Muir's exciting wilderness adventures and tender feeling for animals, while teenagers and adults also appreciate his personal philosophy and deep, mystical experiences of the unity of all life. HOW TO ORDER: All Sharing Nature Products are now available through secure online ordering.  Or call toll free to order through Inner Path at 866-665-7765 In the United Kingdom you can order our books from Deep Books, ltd. Contact: David Birkett, david@deep-books.co.uk Joseph Cornell's books are currently available in the following foreign languages: Chinese, Danish, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Slovene, Spanish, and Thai.
	Excerpts from Sharing Nature with Children, Volume 2 Contents  Flow Learning  Stage 1: Awaken Enthusiasm  Stage 4: Share Inspiration  Sample Activities
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