Nature. The Fractal.

Nature.The Fractal.

Nature holds a significance of clarity in my life. Visually, we see nature all around us as a physical aspect of the natural earth that just coincides with our day to day life. Subconsciously, Nature just becomes an extension of the resources we heavily consume on this planet. Accepting it as an option and not a priority never sat well in mind. Almost to the point where if I didn’t take time out of my daily life to, in some way shape or form, experience Nature, I wouldn't feel balanced.Whether it be physically or mentally, not making a direct connection with Nature made my experiences of life less significant and fulfilled. Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan, authors of “The Universe in a Grain of Sand”, make a significant correlation with the religion of Buddhism and manifesting one's will with the will of Nature. Clarity and self discipline.

Article link to "Children in Nature: http://childreninnature.mo.gov/category/children-in-nature/articles/

Carmelo, my Golden retriever, is a “unique” dog. Everything he does, from going outside to go to the bathroom, to greeting people he’s never encountered, all of it, is unorthodox. He doesn’t bark, he’s scared of plastic bags, and eats grass instead of the puppy chow we give him. At times, it’s frustrating because panning out my experiences with Carmelo in mind, I wanted him to be the dog of champions. The pure breed Golden Retriever that listened to every command his owner gave and never dared to disobey. I had a very American viewpoint on what it meant to posses a dog. Carmelo falls into the category of the natural world. He is in every essence, Nature. He exists in the cycle of life, just as I do, simultaneously. Regardless of the amount of willpower I have over him, he still exist in a realm of possibilities that all creatures on this planet do. You can’t exile a living entity just based off your emotions alone. This can be correlated with Rachel Carson’s essay, The Obligation to Endure (1962). Her ideals of humans being able to not only endure our surrounding environment in a general sense, but also on an intimate level. Society has reached this climatic rise in power due to various aspects, that include emotions such as anger, diligence, stubbornness, and survival. Most of these emotions are allocated to a specific individual, which then spreads like a virus to others surrounding. Rachel Carlson states, “Future historians may well be amazed by our distorted sense of proportion. How could intelligent beings seek to control a few unwanted species by a method that contaminated the entire environment and brought the threat of disease and death even to their own kind?” (Obligation to Endure 1962 pg. 422)

Humans have this uncanny ability to overlook the obvious adverse effects of an idea solely due to want and demand. Society exist today, because it can, not because it’s meant to be this way. It’s inevitable that at some point in time, human error will build the point of imploding on itself. As intelligent beings, we must take into account the very planet we are living on and incorporate it into every aspect of life. Animals without conscious thoughts as us maximize that very idea in everyday life. It’s adds a layer to their survival, a security blanket so to speak. We just haven’t found ours yet, or choose to keep it at bay. Either one is detrimental to our progression as a society.

The “flow of events” idea is similar to the view of reality that derives from modern cosmology. From the smallest atom up to the universe in its entirety, including the galaxies, stars, and humankind, everything is moving and evolving. Nothing is immutable.” (The Universe in a Grain of Sand 437) This passage, written by Trinh in dialogue with Matthieu, stood out to me the most in effort to add credibility to my new found theory on life. The phrase “Nothing is immutable” hit a chord in my mind as it made a direct correlation with everything at once, or Nature included in being something of value. Everything is precious, regardless of your stance or take on it.  The universe will inevitably change what has become known as the standard or way of life. The “Universal law” is change, and in accepting that, you are one step closer to making the realization of clarity throughout your entire being. Not just instances in your life that call for such a quality.

Having come more intimately acquainted with Nature through experiences in my life, I took the steps necessary to actually incorporate it into my daily lifestyle. Whenever I felt distress or discomfort during my day, I took Carmelo through the woods with me, with a journal and pen in hand, and went on a journey to better further my understanding of clarity, and using it to discipline my way of thinking. What I found was not only humbling, but gratifying to be apart of. The temperature was just right and Carmelo was worn out from the journey up, so he just laid in the Sun while I wrote in my journal. The wind was calm, and the silence almost ominous, but an overwhelming feeling of appreciation came over me. We humans rarely ever take time out of our “survival” first lives and meditate about our experiences. Our minds are too preoccupied with trivial aspects of our lives that hold no true significance but boosting the ego. We've also become accustomed to seeing Nature as a playground, not a place of healing and consultation. In that moment with Carmelo, I questioned things never before asked, and quickly provided simple solutions to them simultaneously. This experience is correlated with “the interdependence of phenomena” that Trinh and Matthieu went into great detail about in the “The Universe In A Grain of Sand.”(The Universe In A Grain of Sand 437) Buddhism is also founded on the principles of deep internal decoding of ones self and worth. These methods, with time and discipline, allow a person to be more in touch with their surrounding environment.   

"Ignoring Nature": https://www.commondreams.org/view/2010/07/18-1

Nature is an everlasting elixir of spontaneous life that exists in a form of conscious living. It’s a living presence that has complete understanding of it’s purpose. Nature is more attuned with the Universe’s law than any human being can ever obtain. It’s time we begin to humble our ego’s and bask in the glory of our unique planet. Everything exists as one. No form of life is greater than another. Imperfect beings can not be well versed in the meaning of perfection. Our ego’s strive for it, but our reality distinguishes the notion. Ignorance is not bliss and a sound mind with no interest in being above, only balanced, can learn to be intimately involved into the fractal that has become known as Nature.