I don't know when it happened, but at some point in the last 100 or so years of industrialization of our society, we learned to value technology over Nature. Yes, we've gained a lot in that time, but we have to realize it's been at a cost. The good news is that the support is still there, just awaiting our discovery, wonder and exploration.
This morning I was reflecting back on how animals' messages and appearances have helped awaken things on a soul level for me. The most memorable of these is my encounter with an American Bald Eagle while driving my car at 70 mph down the highway. Not wanting to hit him, I telepathically asked him to fly; he instantly began to take off toward my car. There was a moment in which the eagle was all I could see. In that instant, my life changed. It was subtle at first, but something was awakened that was waiting for this moment in space/time. The question for me now is not "was that eagle there for me?", it is "how many more subtle signs was I missing?"