Take action
To actively contribute to serving the living world
When the inner impulse seeks a concrete form
Returning to oneself means realizing how essential it is to be present with oneself.
This presence is not a mental posture, but a quality of being, an inner space from which action becomes right.
When I go for a walk and encounter trees along my path, their presence is evident, solid. They are there, silent, motionless partners, yet profoundly alive. Their presence comforts, regenerates, reminds us of a stability to which we can connect.
Acting from this space of inner peace then takes on its full meaning.
What trees remind us is that there is no flow of life within us without presence. To be present to oneself is to let life flow, express itself, and be shared.
When we are present to ourselves, a self-assured legitimacy naturally emerges. A presence that is not imposed, but shared. Acting from this presence is the very source of connection with others, and with nature in its entirety.
Revealing ourselves through this self-awareness is a gift that nature reminds us of at every moment.
How can we respond to living things with appropriate actions?
Faced with life — sometimes fragile, threatened, in danger zone — how can we remain fully present to ourselves without contributing to what is given to us?
Nature offers us its breath, its colors, the movement of the wind, the song of the birds. This entire ecosystem confronts us with ourselves, with what we choose to become.
In nature, our contradictions and doubts lose their power. Unity is strength, reciprocity is its language. There is no self-presence without reciprocity.
If we do not love ourselves, we cannot love others.
If we do not recognize what is deeply important to us, we cannot express it.
Nature is expression and exchange.
In silence, in the full and complete acceptance of what is, also resides our potential for action.
Supporting, preserving and passing on knowledge is something the Singapore Botanic Garden does every day.
The Singapore Botanic Gardens acts as a hub connecting plants, knowledge, and people. It supports life through the conservation of rare species, scientific research, and the care of tropical ecosystems. It links disciplines—botany, culture, and education—by fostering dialogue between scientists, gardeners, and visitors. Finally, through the direct experience of the garden, it conveys a sensory understanding of the plant world, accessible to all.
In this spirit, everyone can contribute to supporting life on their own scale: by staying informed, sharing information, or actively participating in reforestation efforts. Initiatives like One Million Tree are part of this movement internationally, while in France, projects led by Reforest'Action , Semeurs de Forêts , Boomforest , and Cœur de Forêt offer various ways to get involved, from financial support to direct participation in planting.
Without emphatic speeches, this approach reminds us that life is not a backdrop, but a set of relationships of which we are a part, and that supporting it often begins with simple, interconnected gestures.
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I believe that the way we act in the world is rooted in the way we inhabit our inner lives.
I believe that many sensitive people today bear important responsibilities — in their projects, their organizations, their commitments.
And yet, in order to hold on, they have often learned to contract:
to contain their emotions
to sever the link with their bodies,
to toughen up in order to keep moving forward.
I believe that this contraction distances us from an essential wisdom: that of the body and that of life.
Living things do not function through control or rigidity.
It functions through listening, adaptation, and relationship.
And perhaps our way of exercising our responsibility can be inspired by that.
Here, I'm exploring another possibility:
that of a leadership that does not require cutting oneself off from oneself.
Leadership that listens to emotions rather than pushing them away.
Who recognizes the wisdom of the body.
He who allows himself to be taught by life.
I believe it is possible to act in the world without losing one's sensitivity.
And that true strength does not come from contraction,
but a deeper relationship to life itself.
If this place can help you regain the confidence to occupy your place — with courage and with love for the life that dwells within you — then it has already fulfilled its function.