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Here's a Gift for You

An uplifting short film I co-directed with Michael "Pom" Preston of the Winnemem Wintu tribe of Mt. Shasta.

It's based on one question:

What's one word from your ancestral language that changed your life and that you can offer to the next generation to heal our relationship with the world?

Appropriate for all ages.  (20 mins.)  

My lineage and perspective

I’m a daughter of the Caribbean, the rainforest and the tepuyes – adopted by the Pacific redwoods. I'm a mama, documentary filmmaker and nature practice guide interested in how cultivating peace in our hearts nurtures peace in our communities and peace for our Earth.

I practice this work by mentoring an international online community of environmentalists and Earth Lovers in the Nature Practice method which has emerged from my work; offering workshops for organizations like Stanford, the UN, the Dalai Lama Fellows and Yosemite’s Nature Bridge;  by hosting the Heart to Heart with the Earth podcast; and by exploring these themes in award-winning film projects like Inmanencia and One Word Sawalmem, articles for Yes! Magazine and spoken word poetry for the Emerging World Project.

Rooted in my own personal experience with nature, my perspective is also shaped by wisdom traditions, ecology, and creative expression:

• 🪷 Peace – Two decades of study with the Dalai Lama, retreats with Thich Nhat Hanh, and training with Arun Gandhi.
• 🌿 Place – Lifelong learning with Indigenous wisdom keepers across the Americas, immersions in spiritual ecology with David Abram, and biomimicry work with Janine Benyus.
• 🌙 Poetry – Award-winning filmmaking on nature, wisdom, and peace, along with personal explorations in sketching, spoken word poetry, and song.

By weaving these threads together, I invite Earth lovers to actively deepen their relationship with nature—awakening the inner peace necessary to restore balance in our world.

From time to time, I send an occasional compilation of what's rooting me in my natural peace.

Here's the link to connect on Instagram.

And here are some of the places my work has been featured.

Here's to your peace and to our collective peace,

natasha deganello giraudie

Who's Rosa Guayaba?

Rosa Guayaba is the particular color of a ripe guava fruit. You say "dusty pink". I say "rosa guayaba." Saying those words connects me not only to a favorite color and a treasured taste of my beloved Venezuela. Rosa Guayaba is gratitude for the immeasurable gifts the Earth offers us each day. Rosa Guayaba is the scent carried by the breeze, reminding us of who we are and what we are here for. Rosa Guayaba is reverence for nature and for all that is sacred.  

This is what I look forward to helping you stay close to.

@rosa.guayaba started as my Instagram handle, as a way of exploring this new thread as it wove itself into life and acknowledge that it was not coming from me, but rather though me from what I experience as the most generous flow.

Along the way, some people have started calling me Rosa, which I didn't expect, yet it makes me smile inside. 

DISCLAIMER

The Calm by Nature and nature practice programs and mentoring are intended to educate and inspire you on your personal journey toward wellbeing and happiness. They are not intended to replace care best provided by qualified professionals and they are not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.