Dear
Bloggers,
Today
driving the commuter bus through the beautiful country sides of Groningen and
Drenthe both districts have lovely roads that are surrounded by nature. I saw a
squirrel on the bicycle lane and a young female deer that just crossed the road
and all my passengers simply missed this as they were to busy with their
phones.
As we become more and more
detached from nature, we start to realize how much we depend on it. Nature is
our primal home, our roots, and our remedy to heal our soul. In search of
valuable lessons in life, we ask for wisdom, experience, knowledge, and intuition.
And who’s been around in this world longer than mother nature? Everything comes
from the Earth and goes back to it.
Nature is flexible and
resilient. Flora and fauna tend to adapt to the conditions they’re in. For
example, take something as fragile as a leaf. Its flexibility is what helps it
endure. If there’s a lot of sun in the area, the leaves of a particular plant
will be smaller, thicker, and will change their pigmentation. Leaves growing in
the shade, on the other hand, will be larger, greener, and thinner, so they
could absorb more sunlight. Flexibility and adaptability are two things all
life has in common–plants and animals alike. Water lilies are aquatic plants
that mostly feed on water nutrients, but they get the necessary amount of
sunlight by stretching out their leaves to the surface of the water. Saguaro
cactuses can stand to go for months without a drop of water in the desert.
Flexibility and fluidity are what makes us strong. The ability to adapt quickly
and take what’s best for us is an important ability.
Nature knows what’s good for
her. In the world of nature, everything revolves around self-preservation and
reproduction. Plants need sunlight, soil, and water to survive, while animals
strive to feed themselves and their young. These processes help preserve the
ideal balance in their habitats. Thanks to its cycles, nature succeeds at
balancing its constructive and destructive tendencies. As humans, we have a
strong potential to be constructive. We are creative, able to connect with each other, and live through
life-changing experiences. We can become fused with nature. We can also enjoy
our solitude. But, sometimes, our destructive side can dominate within us, and
we might engage in things that are harmful to us or our environment.
By listening to our
intuition, developing a growth mindset, and doing the inner work, we will be
able to understand our intentions, values, and purpose better, recognize and
respond to our emotions adequately, and maintain a balanced life.
Nature is ever-changing. As
the daily, monthly, and yearly cycles change, everything in nature changes,
too. Leaves change their color, flowers turn into fruits, some animals sleep
throughout the whole winter, and when they wake up, it’s spring again. Time for
a new beginning. We, on the other hand, cling to things. We want to eat fresh
tomatoes and lettuce in wintertime. We want to stay young forever. The fact
that we’ve evolved to this level of self-awareness is both a blessing and a
curse.
It’s a blessing because we
are able to experience so much, have fun, and change the world by our ideas,
but it’s a curse because, at the end of the day, that’s what makes us aware of
our own mortality. We can find it difficult to embrace change even when we
deeply desire it because change reminds us that everything is transient. What
we need to learn is that that is a good thing. Accepting change makes us more
adaptable, and that sets us free.
Nature is never in a rush. Nature never hurries, and yet, everything is accomplished sooner or later. When you spend time in nature, by the sea, in the forest, or in the desert, you’ll notice nothing really happens in a rush. On the other hand, human beings are always in a hurry. We overload ourselves with work that we can’t fit into 24 hours and then we get stressed out. Stop for a moment. Breathe. Disconnect in order to reconnect with yourself. Set your priorities and change your life’s tempo.
In nature, everything has a
purpose. Humans tend to value nature and things in general by the level to
which they help their own survival. This kind of fixed, self-serving attitude
is how we’ve managed to endanger so many species that are crucial for the
survival of a healthy ecosystem (like bees, for example). If we observe nature
more closely, we’d come to realize that everything in it has a purpose. Every
single movement is geared towards preserving the homeostasis within the system.
Some animals feed on other animals, but they never eat every potential prey.
This has the purpose of maintaining a balanced habitat and ecosystem.
Humans sometimes spend their
entire lives trying to find their purpose in life. We think that it must be
something very deep and difficult to comprehend, so we often focus on the wrong
things, like thinking that work and career are everything and that our purpose
can only be accomplished if we succeed professionally.
What goes around, comes
around. In nature, everything circles back to where it came from. All the
actions have their natural consequences. If you know how the system works, it’s
not too difficult to figure out what the right thing to do is. This is something
we often forget in life. We can’t just do whatever we want. For example, living
a careless life in which we don’t care about our environment has to backfire
sooner or later. Irresponsible consumption, lack of care for our personal
environment, and lack of sustainability consciousness and sustainability
practices in many industries have led to the environmental changes we are
facing today. The principle of endless circulating of energy applies to
everything. Whatever we do, positive or negative, it will eventually come back
at us. People who are genuinely happy and satisfied with their life are the
ones who change this world, by empowering and supporting other human beings
find their meaning and joy.
An ocean is a sum of water
particles. We often feel alone in this world. This can make us anxious, lost,
and disconnected from our purpose in life. In nature, every individual thing is
a part of a larger system. An ocean is a sum of the many waterdrops, and each
drop is equally important in making an ocean what it is. Humans are no
different. After all, we, too, are nature. Each and every one of us has a role
in this Universe, no one is “a surplus.”
Nature is collaborative. More
often than not, surviving in nature means collaborating with other members
of the same species or even with other species. It’s not survival of the
fittest–it’s survival of the most adaptable. Humans sometimes forget about the
importance of working in groups. Our current society teaches us mostly about
the values of individual success. So many people want to be the best, the
number one, the game-changers. Many of us fear blending in with the crowd, so
we want to stand out, be seen, and be remembered.
Spending time in nature makes
us better humans. It helps us relax, disconnect, and discover the depth of
life. Nature is also an incredible and wise teacher. Unless the human factor
changes the balance of a certain natural habitat, in nature, everything functions
flawlessly and in perfect harmony.
All elements of nature are
resilient in their flexibility; they’re intuitive; they take their time; they
have a purpose. There are so many useful takeaways from our primary
home–nature. It’s the matter of paying attention and acknowledging those
lessons that nature teaches us.
The Old Sailor.
