Based on Ralph Waldo Emerson
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/emerson/nature-contents.html
“If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men believe and adore; and preserve for many generations the remembrance of the city of God which had been shown! But every night come out these envoys of beauty, and light the universe with their admonishing smile.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson 1836
There is a saying that we do not appreciate things until we lose them. I often look at the blue skies and stand in fascination at the grand piece of art exhibited right above us. It has the grandest scale anyone can imagine, displays to small and great alike. It is there - just there. We see it from childhood into our full development. Nonetheless, its splendor hardly catches the curious eye, and its majesty goes mostly ignored.
Every time I sit and absorb myself with the environment; every time I smell the fragrance after a rain; even every brief second I use to look at the birds in flight, I stand in great admiration of our world. It seems like the human taste has reduced greatly to petty flickering lights. Their obsessions with the progressive discoveries in a shabby effort to mimic nature preoccupy their minds, and leaves no room for anything that is not man made. A man of wealth will pay a great deal to have a near nature installation in his home, but will not as much as take a walk in his yard. It fascinates me how abundant beauty is around us, and how blind we are to it - almost as a curse on humanity for their little appreciation for nature's providence. The world of imperfection is preferred over the world of absolute bliss. This separation with nature has made man almost allergic to nature or any natural environment. One starts to wonder who the ancestors of this species are. They condemn any 'unprocessed' item as poisonous even though, by the same, their fathers bore them. They are a very different race.
Only the fear of loss draws their attention. When an organism is about to get extinct they buzz and protest about it as though they know the significance of the creature - until five years after extinction, then they move on never concerned with the loss, but for the fear of another loss. They never want to play outside until deprived of it. Nothing natural sparks much attention until a benefit is observed; then processed, and finally abused. They die of hunger whilst being surrounded by 'unprocessed' food. Now their dogs put on cloths, and shiver in its absence. Living among nature, nature has become their outcast; only known for unforgiving strength and disaster - if only they could learn to wield that too. Nonetheless, nature is relentless with its offer of reconciliation.
Nature still rises as the sun in the morning and beholds the inattentive world of people as they hurry to work and their kids to school - to learn to be like them. Nature pours as the rain and snow, and these people either celebrate the day-off or curse the bad weather. They get their fancy umbrellas to keep nature away. They are impossible, but nature is relentless and sometimes impatient. Nature decides to pull down their artificial refuges and rips their manmade shelters apart. It blows their shabby creations away in an angry appearance that is just as fascinating to behold. After nature's rage, it brings a gentle morning over the creatures who by now are disheartened and seeking comfort. Before long, they mobilize and restore their synthetic empire.
Notwithstanding, every night comes out with these envoy of beauty and lights the universe with their admonishing smile.
Emerson, Ralph W. "Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson." Oregon State University. Web. 05 Mar. 2011. <http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/texts/emerson/nature-emerson-a.html>.
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