It is a fact of modern life that you and I are somewhat disconnected from nature. Picture this — how many of us keep a track of the seasons, the blossoming of flowers, or caterpillars turning into butterflies, or a child’s fulsome laughter? If you were to ask your friends the last time they gazed at the stars, not Facebook, you’d not get a response. Well, for most of us watching nature on TV seems as close as we can get to ‘feeling’ it. You and I are, of course, not alone — there are millions who just wake up, rush through the morning hour, snack a quick bite, commute to, and from, work — by way of reflex. They literally ‘baby-sit’ with fluorescent lights, surrounded by familiar office air, or air-conditioning, along with electromagnetic haze. What’s more, for days they don’t experience the sun’s revitalising effects. The point also is: regardless of such negatives, the flow of life is intimately associated with the cycles of nature. This is reason why nature keeps us well-grounded.
Nature is a biological haven. It calls and embraces us with unconditional love, even when our contact is fleeting — or, limited, perhaps, to a holiday, or planned visit to ‘feel’ it in its pristine glory. Nature ‘grounds’ us all to our roots. Just think of it. A walk through a tree-lined avenue, a rejuvenating massage with herbal oils, or meditation sessions, for your mind, body, and soul — to beat life’s stresses, difficulties, or adversities. Or, just look outside — the sights, sounds, and scents of nature. They all bring elemental echoes of symmetry, including nature’s balancing chemistry, to our unconscious mind. When we connect ourselves to nature, we not only attach, but also value divinity in it, and within ourselves — of which we are always a part.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson, the American essayist and poet, put it so succinctly, all natural objects make a kindred impression, more so when the mind is open to their influence. He eulogised that nature never wears a mean appearance. Nature never becomes a toy to a wise spirit. The flowers, the animals, the mountains, reflect such wisdom. Emerson summarised that nature pleases even in its harsh moments. “The same landscape viewed in different weather and seasons is seen as if for the first time. We cannot capture natural beauty, if we too actively and consciously seek it. We must rather submit ourselves to it, allowing it to react to us spontaneously, as we go about our lives.”
Nature is ironically antagonistic to us in terms of modern Western science and technology, or a sphere of facts to be studied, explored, and exploited. Nature, in Eastern thought, is the vibrant domain — of fleeting sensations, forms, or life experiences, including ephemeral and spiritual impressions.
Nature also works seamlessly together with the spiritual element, or dynamics, in us — as Emerson again underlined — to enhance the nobility of virtuous and heroic human actions. “There is a particular affinity between the processes of nature and the capabilities of man. Nature provides a suitably large and impressive background against which man’s higher actions are dramatically outlined. It is this which distinguishes the stick of timber of the wood-cutter from the tree of the poet.”
Science, as Max Born, the German-English physicist and mathematician, suggested so insightfully, consists essentially in making man appreciate the pre-eminence of critical knowing over instinctive thinking as far as the awareness of nature is involved. But this, as he reflected, is also a great humanistic influence, for two key reasons. One, humans are characterised by the ability to know. Hence, a certain improvement in their knowing necessitates by itself a tangible improvement in their human condition. Two, the rapport of man with nature is essential for affable humanism — because, we all depend on nature in myriad ways.
Life in modern cities, or towns, may not offer us wholesome advantages vis-à-vis nature in the countryside. Fortunately, there are simple, useful ways to exploring nature in its abridged, or ‘edited,’ essence. One could amble to the nearest open space for a walk, drive to the sea, or lake. One could, likewise, relax on the sands of a beach, or bench overlooking a man-made pond. Or, unwind on a beanbag, after dinner — just watching the stars for a while. Or, keep houseplants in the balcony, or small water-fountains, where appropriate. Or, just look at them — and, speak to them softly and lovingly. They will flourish — and, in so doing, spread happiness around our small, or big, world.
— First published in India First
