(Human) Nature: A Place to Heal

Abstract

The ramifications of homophobia, microaggressions, or othering leave lasting traces of pain on a minority. The course of a minority’s life is surrounded by messages that are negative, hateful, and are either blunt or subtle. A minority belonging to the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, Bisexual, and Queer plus (LGTBQ+) community is exposed to severe homophobia within their own ethnic culture and within their immediate family. Add to that the ethnic-culturally constructed concept of the female gender and the status as an immigrant. These messages of “no” and “rejection” serve as a constant reminder to not draw outside the lines. We are conditioned by our ethnic culture to understand that the manner in which we exist is wrong, and worse, that we must change or adapt to be “less wrong.” These negative messages elicit an upheaval of emotions and various forms of mental illness. We spend time fending off these messages by striving for survival instead of living life and loving oneself is often non-existent. Minorities are bound to their own ethnic culture by a force only other minorities can fully comprehend; you don’t leave, you don’t turn your back on your family; you are not an individual. Doing so brings shame to the family and to your ancestry. This force complicates the decoding of the negative messages for the minority; when and where do we draw the line of living life free of distress? Is it selfish to lead a path of individuality for simply existing? Coping mechanisms are often harmful to the physical body or the mind, or both. Often one finds solution in suicide. Nature is a place with messages that are not readily or easily understood by someone surrounded by negative messages: positivity, hope, strength, and courage. Frequent access to nature and its positive effects allows a minority to unlearn that how we are composed is wrong. Nature’s power to heal lies in the absence of human influence. Long-term exposure to nature allows for peace to be felt onto the physical body, the mind, and even the soul; a place to heal.