In Soulful Nature, Brian Draper and Howard Green encourage you to get outside and make deeper connections with creation and its creator. They chart walking journeys through rural landscapes and town streets over the course of a year, showing how the natural cycle of the changing seasons can awaken us to the rhythms of our own lives.

Brian Draper;Howard Green

Copyright information

Dedication

Foreword

About the Authors (in each other’s words)

The ‘South Country’

Introduction

1. January: Stories from Deep Time

2. February: Finding Rhythm

3. March: A Wooded Corner of Hampshire

4. April: In Pursuit of Spring

5. May: For a New Beginning

6. June: Let There Be Light!

7. July: A Truly Ancient Pathway

8. August: The Story of My Heart

9. September: Real and Colourful, Fruitful and Whole

10. October: An Ode to Autumn

11. November: To Deepen the Love

12. December: The Winter Wander on the Solstice

Epilogue

Bibliography

Appendix: Finding the Twelve Walks

• Brings the deep traditions of Christian spirituality to bear on the increasingly popular genre of nature writing. • Based on the authors' extensive experience of running retreats, workshops and leading outdoor walks.

In our busy, pressured world, the natural world can be a powerful counter-balance, offers wisdom for the challenges, pain and dislocations of life as well as for beauty, wonder and healing. In Soulful Nature, Brian Draper and Howard Green encourage you to get outside and make deeper connections with creation and its creator. They chart walking journeys through rural landscapes and town streets over the course of a year, showing how the natural cycle of the changing seasons can awaken us to the rhythms of our own lives. Each chapter explores a different landscape, zooming in on the small details of the natural world as well as panning out to the wide-screen beauty of time and place. Simple and practical spiritual exercises are provided throughout.

'As this timely book explains, we need to let nature into our lives and to feel its healing properties.'

'A remarkable book, transporting the reader on a journey through a year in nature. I am lucky enough to know all the places visited in this book, most of them very well. Brian and Howard's musings bring these places, and our seasons, not so much to life, as to meaning.'

'A thoughtful, evocative journey through some very special places, exploring the connection they offer us to the healing balm and spiritual possibilities of nature. It's a pleasure to be in the company of these two friends as they share history, naturalism and practical suggestions about how to slow down, connect with nature, and reflect in whatever way works for you.'

'Brian Draper and Howard Green write with warmth, wisdom and a winsome way of earthing spirituality in the unique gift of each place. Best of all, they make you want to step outside and find the kingdom of heaven, hidden like treasure in the soil.'

'A walk with Brian and Howard helps you see and hear more clearly, feel with a warmer heart and be a part of nature rather than just an observer.'

\["For anyone wanting to connect faith with nature","Brian Draper &amp; Howard Green offer a spiritual guide to being outside","You'll find new connections between the seasons and your own spirituality"\]

Foreword

About the Authors

The 'South Country'

Introduction

1. January: Stories from Deep Time
2. February: Finding rhythm
3. March: A Wooded Corner of Hampshire
4. April: In Pursuit of Spring
5. May: For a New Beginning
6. June: Let There Be Light!
7. July: A Truly Ancient Pathway
8. August: The Story of My Heart
9. September: Real and Colourful, Fruitful and Whole
10. October: An Ode to Autumn
11. November: To Deepen the Love
12. December: The Winter Wander on the Solstice

Epilogue

Bibliography

Appendix: Finding the Twelve Walks

'A walk from Brian and Howard helps you see and hear more clearly, feel with a warmer heart and be a part of nature rather than just an observer.' - Clare Balding

‘As this timely book explains, we need to let nature into our lives and to feel its healing properties.’ __Alan Titchmarsh__

'A remarkable book, transporting the reader on a journey through a year in nature, deep within the South Country. Its brand of Christianity will appeal to all nature lovers, not just those still able to call the natural world by its old name, Creation. The two authors are perfectly nuanced, writing seamlessly as one - something massive binds them together. I am lucky enough to know all the places visited in this book, most of them very well. I look forward to visiting them again, more deeply. Brian and Howard's musings bring these places, and our seasons, not so much to life, as to meaning.' __Matthew Oates__, Nature Notebook writer for the Times, author and broadcaster.

'A sure-footed field guide to the soul of the South Country. Brian Draper and Howard Green write with warmth, wisdom and a winsome way of earthing spirituality in the unique gift of each place. Best of all, they make you want to step outside and find the kingdom of heaven, hidden like treasure in the soil.' __Andrew Rumsey__, Bishop of Ramsbury

‘A thoughtful, evocative journey through some very special places, exploring the connection they offer us to the healing balm and spiritual possibilities of nature. It’s a pleasure to be in the company of these two friends as they share history, naturalism and practical suggestions about how to slow down, connect with nature, and reflect in whatever way works for you.’ __Louise Govier, National Trust__

Bringing Christian spirituality to evocative nature writing, Brian Draper and Howard Green offer a guide to faith in the rhythms of natural life.

Brian Draper is the author of numerous books, a regular speaker at Greenbelt and other festivals and conferences, and presents Thought for the Day on BBC Radio 4's Today programme. He lives in Winchester. Howard Green is a former science teacher and headteacher who works as a National Trust outdoor guide in Hampshire.

Soulful Nature

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