To me, something that is “natural” is something that has been around for a really long time. I’m thinking of humans and our traits that have lasted 500,000 years or more. If something has lasted that long then there must be a reason. It has beaten the test of time. And I think that to change something that has been working for so long deserves careful thought, experimentation, and consideration of all the possible outcomes.
Here are some things that have been around for a very, very long time.
Walking on uneven ground. Being cold and hot. Getting all of your living needs directly from the land you lived on. Being surrounded every day by people that love you and have known you since birth. Needing your spouse for your survival and for your family’s survival. Children learning through play, stories, role modeling and careful mentoring by a large group of varying-aged people. Making things with your hands. Eating high fat, low carb diets.
Of course there are millions of examples of things we do in our culture that are new to our species and evolution. Many of these things – walking on uneven ground for example – have been that way long before we were even human. There are also many things in our culture that are totally natural, like economics. Supply and demand has been around since life on earth began.
Emotion is a simple and very effective motivator to an action. We evolved to feel really good when we do things beneficial to our survival. And to feel bad, anxious, or uncomfortable when something isn’t right. This is why I think learning primitive skills and experiencing aspects of natural living feels so good. If we kept staring at computers all day and eating high sugar diets for 10,000 more years then that would probably feel really good too.
view from the highest point
In other news, I just got back from a great family ski-trip in Winter Park. Here are some pictures: 
Winter Park village
Natural Skills 