Nature Versus Human
The beauty of nature is spectacularly magnificent which represents the greatness of our Creator. It is still a question for us how nature originally exists. Biblically, the existence of nature was explained through the book of Genesis which stated that God created the heaven and Earth including all life forms for six days. The said explanation was the commonly known as the “Theory of Creation”.
In contrast to this theory, scientists formulated different theories about the origin of the heavenly bodies that give focus on the Earth as the only living planet. Some scientists have conceived the meanderings of a single carbon atom, released in the unstable death throes of a star, traveling for an era across intergalactic space that land in a gas disk that eventually formed Earth which changed chemically. As a finale it is being put into a life series which serves as a guide to human hand to write about it.
Human just like Earth is created by God according to His character. Adam, who was the first man, is created from ashes that were molded to make as he is. From getting a part from Adam’s ribs the first woman was created n the name of Eva. God gave authority to them to rule over all the living creatures. And until now that rule still applies in which we, human beings are still the ones that take over in this world. We, human beings are part of nature that God created and dominated.
In the world of Science, it is so fascinating that oxygen appeared on Earth only about 500 million years ago, but life in a form of bacteria has been traced to 3.5 billion years deep. It means that very slowly primitive forms of life have the control over the atmospheric composition that changed for its own development, growth, and reproduction. That is how they amazingly took control of the atmospheric composition for their own survival. What about humans who are known as smart animals and their archaic idea about nature and human nature. Are they able to take control over both of them?
Although it is entirely unbelievable that people are made from the ashes of cosmological death just to kill each other in the intergalactic space. Or, maybe, people are made to love and to be loved, to overtake a chain of life from one generation to the other, nurture and preserve life in all its diversity, heal the sufferings took into being by other people, understand the deep relationship of all aspects of life on this planet? Do we really have the right to conquer and dominate nature, space and each other?
The human understanding of the universe is extremely limited. The human understanding of the human race and its main mission on the planet Earth is even more limited. In this essay I would like to discuss some aspects of the nature and human nature in their unity and interconnection from the personal responsibility point of view.
For millions of years, humans survived in a predator-prey relationship with all species. Equilibrium exists on the Earth. As we lost visions of our origins, we began starting to develop tools and ways of living that protect us from predators, the elements, and the insecurity of hunger. We elucidate away nature with mythology. We became arrogant, and established religious and state institutions that justified our behavior and helped us to live with the violence committed every day in the name of god, king, country, ego and sport. Humans stopped looking for answers to nature, and instead came up with answers that suited the moment.
The origination of life on our planet is still remains a mystery. The mystery of how life exists still unfolds. It is a unity of everything alive in nature. Life is a metaphysical thing. Earth is a living body continually giving birth to a new life, spirit and compassion. Nature has its own life. Life is sustained through interactions among things either living or non-living which are part of nature.
The beauty and power of nature is unique and for more appreciation, art is used to express the real beauty and power it possesses. Nature poetry is an art to freely state the things about the soleness of nature. It makes a way to keep us in touch with nature.
The poem “A child said what is a grass?” by Walt Whitman is a poem about nature that expresses the mystery of nature. In this poem, from a simple question of the child, many hypothesized answers were provoked which were said to the child just to answer that only question. The poem expresses the experiences of a grass which explains the reality that there are new things arises and there are others that suddenly died.
The poem “No boundaries” by Sin Barreras show the close relationship of man to nature. Man experiences for himself the never-ending wonders of nature which is done by running breathlessly through the forest and resting beneath the tall trees.
Oscar Wilde’s “We are Made One with what We Touch and See” explains the equality of human beings to experience the incomparable nature’s magnificence in which all living creatures live. Indeed man has the dominion over all the things in this world according to what God said in the book of Genesis.
Another poem in relation to nature is the poem by T. S. Eliot entitled “The Waste Land” in which the author describe a waste land a place that is lifeless or in other words a place with no any life forms. A waste land is a non productive one for there are no creatures that can able to survive.
The heartfelt joy due to the splendor of nature is expressed in the poem by Bliss Carman’s “Earth Voices”. The author freely expresses gratitude for experience she had with nature’s awesome wonders. The fascinating beauty of nature is also expressed in the poem “Nature’s Calm” by Alcman.
The unique beauty of nature is shown in Lacy Reese’s poem “My Mountain Top” which recognizes the interrelationship of biotic and abiotic components of nature. These components have different relationships, either mutuality or complexity.
Human abuses the authority they have. Due to intellectual and physical capability, human beings have the over-all control on nature. Human possesses the ability to change nature. Human beings neglect the authority they take hold of to fulfill their needs for survival and luxuries as well. We as human beings having the dominion over all creatures in this world should know the extent of authority. The abuse in authority leads to big destruction of nature. And eventually, nature has its own way to teach us the result of what we humans have done.
The calamities such as typhoons, landslide, floods and global warming that we are experiencing are the revenge of nature for the things we had done supported by Machiavelli’s thought that man is selfish in nature. In Wordsworth’s poem the “The World is Too Much with us”, it show how nature had enough of the sufferings in the hands of humans. Nature indeed goes through sufferings when human start to become civilized. Since the first man was not civilized, nature that time is not highly disturbed. He does not think on how to increase production of food for he had not yet develop tools for cultivation. That time, man gets his own food by hunting and gathering.
But as thousands of years passed by, there is an evolution that had taken place. The population starts to grow and that time, people become civilized Man had learned modified ways to survive such as cultivating crops and raising animals for their own food, make clothes for warmth and comfort, and shelter for a place to stay. Population of man increases which leads to population explosion.
As more people are being born, there are more requirements to be satisfied. Modernization serves as the way to fulfill them and as a consequence, development of technologies arise which continually are becoming more advance. Such certain advanced technologies are then used that leads to the environment’s destruction besides from tropical cyclone and other calamities.
Is the true role of man to destroy nature? The destruction of nature can possibly due to humans. Nature can be rude to us. The land slides and flashfloods are the returns that were given to us by nature in which more properties and lives had gone and wasted in an instant.
It’s all in our outlook. We live in a competitive world. Plants and animals struggle to survive. Resources are limited that is why there is competition. As we humans struggle to live, there is something that is being sacrifice. That sacrifice is due to our unselfish act. As higher form of animals who had given the task to rule over all living creatures, the fate of nature is in us. We must take note that all our basic necessities are derived from the natural resources.
From Francis Bacon’s Novum Organum, “Nature to be commanded must be obeyed”. We humans must first respect and protect nature so that we can receive blessings from it. According to the Legal Maxim, “The greatest force is that of nature”. Nature has a great impact in our lives for this is where we live and get our needs. Nature is indeed powerful than us for we are part of nature wherein nature comes to know itself. The knowledge that we gain is used to interact with nature and to know what nature really is.
We should try to bond with nature for the splendor of nature can give us joy and hope. According to Michael J. Cohen, Ed.D “If you are missing out on the natural joy and wisdom of life, it is because you have been taught to ignore it….Reconnecting with nature consists of bringing into your consciousness a sensory way of thinking and relating with which you are born.”.
Nature can give us happiness for its beauty that it has is really amazing. We should appreciate the things that we see around us and be thankful to have them. Material things cannot bring you true happiness but nature can. Let us obediently do our task us humans to protect nature for it is also one of our duties here on Earth. Let us make this world a better place to live.
References:
Carman, Bliss.Short Works of Bliss Carman and Richard Hovey
Dunn, Sara. Poetry for the Earth
Kray, Elizabeth. Walking Tour: Walt Whitman’s SoHo Historic District in New York City
Steffen, Alex. World Changing. A User’s Guide for the 21st Century.
