To get to know nature, you must first decide what nature is to you.
When you think of nature, is this the image that forms in your mind?
Nature is often taken to mean the "natural environment" or “wilderness” and the underlying processes such as weather and geology. Wild animals, native plants, mountains, forests, beaches, and those things that have not been altered by mankind, are considered to be part of the natural world. Man-made objects and human interaction generally are not considered part of nature.
The idea of nature representing the physical universe is just one usage of the original notion. This view of nature has been reinforced by the advent of the modern scientific method. Most folks have established a view that nature is this physical world. A world which is separate from us and the objects of our creation.
Nature’s role in our existence has become a duality. On the one hand, nature is the pristine world untouched by human activity to be used for our recreation and which should be preserved for future generations. At the same time, nature is the source of the natural resources which we extract and use to sustain our rapid population increase and exponential technological advances.
Mankind stands between heaven and earth.
The original notion of nature is a more encompassing. The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura, or "essential qualities, innate disposition", and literally means "birth". Natura was a Latin translation of the Greek word physis (φύσις), which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants, animals, and other features of the universe develop of their own accord.
Adopting this expanded definition allows you to develop a personal relationship with nature from a physical and a spiritual perspective.
These intrinsic qualities and characteristics encompass every aspect of the universe. Today's technological progress is allowing us to explore our universe from the subatomic to the cosmic, in ways never before imagined. I find it both fundamentally coincidental and downright amazing that our daily scale of experiences fit smack in the middle between the extreme limits of matter and energy and the vastness of time and space.
'Apollo 17 photo, our daily scale is measured in meters'
Estimates vary for the width of the universe and the size of subatomic particles. If you average the estimates, the scale of existence is between 10 27 meters and 10 -27 meters. Let’s call us 2 meters high. Two meters is about 6 feet or 2 times 100 meters (scientific notation). So we humans stand right in the middle between the biggest and the smallest!
This more general description of nature includes both the natural and the artificial; all the objects and the phenomena of the universe. The intrinsic essence of a person, place or thing encompasses the physical and the esoteric world. Such a view precludes observing nature from the outside and allows us to experience it from the inside. Adopting this expanded definition allows you to develop a personal relationship with nature from a physical and a spiritual perspective. This is important now more than ever. For the first time in the history of the earth, the role of human nature and its affect on the natural world in which we live is the most significant influence on global change.
Start looking at nature from within, as an integral part of your daily life. Cease looking at nature from a distance, as an outside observer.
You will be amazed, Denny
