Wild Wonder: What Nature Teaches Us about Slowing Down and Living Well

An invitation to explore the life-giving lessons we can learn from the Earth, featuring stunning photography and reflections from an acclaimed visual artist

The Earth is the first tangible gift we were given. Yet when did you last pause to appreciate the immensity of the ocean, wander in silence through an ancient forest, or behold the grandeur of a mountain? How long has it been since you’ve felt grass beneath your feet?

Accompanied by awe-inspiring full-color photography from landscape cinematographer and visual artist Stephen Proctor, Wild Wonder: What Nature Teaches Us About Slowing Down and Living Well combines pastoral observations about creation with an explorationof how it can provide healing to our minds and bodies. Divided into five parts that are each devoted to a unique aspect of nature--oceans, forests, rivers, ice, and mountains--Proctor encourages readers to recognize how being outside restores us and offers us a renewed sense of awe and wonder for the Creator.

In each of the thirty brief essays, he points to some of the deep lessons nature can teach us. We can appreciate the gift of silence while observing a glacier, gain a new perspective on top of a mountain, learn the skill of slowing down from a river, and experience a metaphor of redemptive life after death through nurse logs. Each part includes an interview from an artist whose inspiration has been drawn from nature and ends with a ＂Time to Fly!＂ section that features reflection questions, simple action prompts, and sources for further exploration.

Whether outdoor enthusiasts or armchair adventurers, readers of this book will be drawn into a more holistic and contemplative way of life and a deeper awareness of the beautiful world around them.

Stephen Proctor is a visual artist who specializes in landscape cinematography and aerial photography to curate calming, imaginative experiences. Many of his current collaborations are with film composers, ambient artists, and modern classical musicians. For the past twenty years, he has toured with various bands and authors, producing visually immersive experiences for live concerts and conferences all around the world. Stephen lives in a small cabin in the Columbia River Gorge just outside Portland, Oregon.