What Nature Can Teach Us
I look to the natural world for instruction, for the kind of quiet, steady guidance that doesn’t shout but hums in a language older than we are. The curl of a fern, the pattern of tides, the way a beehive thrives because every role is valued. I have taken classes in biomimicry, learning how the shape of a kingfisher’s beak can inspire a faster train, how the structure of a lotus leaf can teach us to keep buildings clean without chemicals. Nature offers solutions if we are willing to pay attention.
She also offers a truth so obvious we sometimes forget it: diversity is not a luxury; it is the foundation of life. Imagine a world with only one tree, the oak. No peaches dripping with summer sweetness, no delicate apple blossoms in spring, no maples blazing red in October. Imagine a single kind of fish in the sea. The coral reefs would collapse, the food chains unravel, the currents themselves would shift. A healthy ecosystem is a chorus, not a solo.
This is not some kind of statement. It is the way the world works. The meadow flourishes because there are a hundred different flowers bending toward the sun. The forest stands strong because it is an assembly of many species, each offering something the others need.
Diversity is an insurance policy. It makes us more resilient. When one part falters, another fills in. When the weather shifts, when the balance tips, diversity keeps the system alive.
This is true for our communities as well. Different voices, ideas, traditions, and ways of thinking are what keep a culture dynamic. When we listen to more than one perspective, we grow stronger, more flexible, more able to face what comes next.
Try this.
Choose one resource a week. A single podcast episode, one chapter, one film. Take notes. Ask what lesson it offers for your own life. Share what you learn with a friend or your community. Let it shape a small action: plant something, join a local cleanup, start a conversation about diversity where you live. The work is steady, like walking. Step by step, it changes the way you see the world.
Podcasts:
Films:
Books:
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Biomimicry by Janine Benyus
A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
Libby DeLana is an award-winning executive creative director, designer/art director by trade, who has spent her career in the ad world. Click here to get your copy of Libby’s first published book, Do Walk. Libby's second book, Cold Joy, will be available on Oct. 14, 2025—pre-order your copy now. You can connect with Libby on Instagram @thismorningwalk and @parkhere.