The Unnatural Order Of Nature

Of course I love nature…

Except when it crawls on me

Bites me

Rains on me

Makes me freeze

or knocks me down

Second to other humans—which are part of nature as well—nature in general is the most influential thing in our lives. It encompasses everything from the ants on the ground to the sun above us, and everything in between. It is essential to our survival. However, have you ever stopped and wondered if there is really an order of importance?

I know all about the food chain and how we must sometimes kill nature to survive, but is the ant really less important than the monkey, or have we been doing this whole nature thing backwards? Since all living things are made up of energy and matter I’m starting to think it all matters because it is impossible to prioritize energy itself.

Let me put it in a different way. The air in one room does not have priority over the air in another room, or outside, or in another house, or compared to air in another country. It’s all air! This goes for energy as well. The energy that flows in me is the same energy that flows in you, and in the ant, and in the monkey, and in the shark, and in all living things!

I may even take this one step further. A tree is made up of the same energy. It grows, it takes in water, it needs sunlight and oxygen. Therefore, is it really less important than you or I?

I challenge you to look at nature again through a different perspective. Unlearn to prioritize each living thing, and instead see it all as one. One giant living organism. The entire earth, not just its contents. The earth is a giant rock, and even the rocks on the ground are compressed energy. If each thing in nature is made up of the same energy as you and I, would you walk through life differently? I don’t see how you could not. I don’t see how we would not live life differently.

It is not a coincidence that we find solace when walking through nature. It lowers our anxiety levels and elevates serotonin levels. It is the reason why many flock out of the city to be surrounded by more nature. We yearn to be with nature because we yearn to find ourselves again. It is us and we are it.