Are you a ‘moss girl’? The art of the slow surrender to nature

Are you a ‘moss girl’? The art of the slow surrender to nature

It started on social media (where else?) but there is something to this practice of ‘girl mossing’ that’s worth taking a look at. 

First of all, what is ‘girl mossing’? It’s a practice variously described as ‘limiting screen time, staying off social media and going outside to touch some grass; slowing down and restoring by immersing yourself in nature; snuggling into soft green moss; a philosophy of embracing rest and rejuvenation.’ 

In other words, spending time immersed in nature in a really physical way: lying on the ground, absorbing the light filtering through trees, checking out of the hectic pace of ‘normal’ life to embrace—periodically and also therapeutically—a more contemplative way of being.  

And the idea of moss—slow-growing, tenacious, ancient—is particularly appropriate to the notion of digging in and making time. Potawatomi botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer writes: 

Mosses, I think, are like time made visible. They create a kind of botanical forgetting. Shoot by tiny shoot, the past is obscured in green … 450 million years ago [the mosses] began a great experiment in evolution, the challenge of living on the land, an experiment of which we are all a part, a story whose ending is unwritten.  

What a beautiful thought. Everyone, could be like moss: start practising the art of a slow surrender to nature. 



[1] Wall Kimmerer, R (2022) ‘Ancient Green: Moss, Climate, and Deep Time’ https://emergencemagazine.org/essay/ancient-green/

 

← Older Post Newer Post →

Morning, sunshine! What energises you at the beginning of the day?

Morning, sunshine! What energises you at the beginning of the day?

For some, it’s being able to embrace the silence of an early morning and not talking to anyone: no phone switched on until work starts,...

Read more
Where's the connection to nature?

Where's the connection to nature?

World Happiness Report 2025    This post mentions topics some may find disturbing.   Earlier this year, the University of Oxford’s Wellbeing Research Centre released...

Read more
Following the Cruelty-Free Way

Following the Cruelty-Free Way

Koala Eco joins the Leaping Bunny Program Ever since co-founders Jessica and Paul developed our ideas 
for Koala Eco and launched the company in 2017,...

Read more
Experience the epic country

Experience the epic country

How we’re inspired by Australia    Australia. What an epic country.   While in other parts of the world new landmasses are still being birthed...

Read more
The Sunday Reset - Inspired by Rosalina [Melaleuca ericifolia]

The Sunday Reset - Inspired by Rosalina [Melaleuca ericifolia]

A guide to embracing the new week    Sensual. Earthy. Soothing.  Oh Rosalina! This divine plant is often called the Bush Lavender, thanks to its...

Read more
Helping the blue planet stay blue

Helping the blue planet stay blue

Koala Eco supporting coastal plastic clean-ups   "Surfing is sensual. It's a real-time engagement with the forces of nature, which happen to be echoes of...

Read more