In Episode 21 of Nature Therapy Online, I tell a classic nature story from Japan. This story is part myth, part meditation, and it explores themes around pet-friendship and nature-connection. Click on the slim black player above to listen.

I have deliberately not given a clear title to this story, as I would like to keep an element of surprise as to where the story goes. I hope you enjoy it!

You might be wondering why there’s an image of a domestic cat here, and not, say, a wild cat or an animal from the wilderness. It’s a nature therapy podcast and not a pet podcast, no? Well, although the cat in this particular story is not the entire focus (the main character’s relationship to the land being just as important), I wanted to introduce the idea of all animal connection being a kind of nature connection.

‘Pet therapy’ is not something I practise in my ecotherapy work, yet many people consider it to be a form of ecotherapy. Although house pets such as dogs and cats have been domesticated over thousands of years, they still retain their wild instincts to a large degree. I believe that the reason these (and many other) animals are so popular as pets is because of the simplicity of the relationship we share with them. This simple relationship, for me, is not dissimilar to the simple joy I find in being out in nature. It is this human life connecting with another form of life.

The story in this episode of the ecotherapy radio show is a classic myth from Japan. I think you will understand where it is going once it starts! It is about the beauty of pet friendship, the joy of being by the water, and the riches of living a simple life within nature. It’s one of my favourite myths, and I hope you enjoy my telling of it!

Green smiles,

Stephen