This past year has been a traumatic one for everyone - unless of course, you managed to sleep through the pandemic, or somehow never saw David Attenborough's Netflix message. By now, I think everyone has become aware of the fact that no matter where you live, how much money you have or what the colour of your skin is, the devastating effects of humanity's selfishness, wastefulness and recklessness will affect your life too. The problems of deforestation, plastic usage, species being driven to extinction, and melting ice caps up until now, have all just been a distant, vague nightmare that we've only scrolled by on-screen. Unfortunately, the majority of people are only outraged by injustice when it happens directly to them. This was the first moment when we collectively all experienced a nightmare and now it’s up to us to turn it around together. As sad as this experience was, I think it could be seen as some kind of a gift, something that finally might be able to unite seven and a half billion people. 

What I can personally do, is what hundreds of artists are doing and have done in the past couple of thousand years: to express my feelings and thoughts through my drawings, and trust that my message will go through. Of course, I also try to set an example for my children through my own actions, and by explaining to them that sometimes mankind is selfish, wasteful and reckless. But at the same time, mankind can also be wonderful, ingenious, creative and selfless as a part of nature, and together we can make a positive change.

Here’s what Jung says about the relationship between man and nature:

"People who have been spoiled by too much civilization go for a walk in the woods or for a swim in the sea. They may rationalize it one way or another, but in reality, they’re shaking off their chains and allowing nature to make a connection with them. This can happen from both within and from the outside. When we walk in the woods and lie down in the grass, or bathe in the sea, it comes from the outside...but if we dive into the unconscious or get in touch with ourselves through our dreams, we are touched by nature from within, and both go through the same process: our frame of mind and everything else goes back to normal." The only thought I'd like to add is that, in my experience, Transcendental Meditation is the most beautiful way of getting in touch with the infinite ocean of consciousness that lies beyond our dreams and what Jung calls the unconscious, it’s the most beautiful way of encountering nature within us.