mother nature

Mother atureN

by

Annie Gebel

Mother Nature has so much to teach us. She cycles through her year with lesson after lesson, whether or not we’re paying attention. I encourage you to do just that, though. Please take note of how nature is leading by example. Maybe you need more than good manners to truly tune in. So, here are a few reasons for you and the natural world around you to get reacquainted.

First of all, nature is beautiful! Music is written about it. Art is created honoring it. It’s no wonder why, either. It is wonderous! I’ve had the opportunity to live all over the United States. I’ve lived in the humid heat of Southeast Georgia and the dry heat of New Mexico. I’ve been a short drive from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. I’ve flown over the quilted mid-states and driven the interstates that part their fields. It’s all awe-inspiring in its own way – and that’s not even stepping foot out of our own country. So, looking around and enjoying the journey, rather than only be concerned about the destination or your phone, will allow you to appreciate the incredible gift that Mother Nature has for us – all that is around us. The more you look at nature, the more you’ll notice about how adaptive, impressive, and simply lovely it is. For example, think about nursery trees. When a tree falls (no, I don’t know if it makes a noise if no one is there to hear it), it becomes part of the rich base layer that everything grows out of. Saplings will sprout on it. Fungus will grow. Animals will call it home. It’s not ignored or forgotten by the rest of its environment – it becomes the environment and nurses the next generation of new growth. I don’t know about you, but I find that to be beautiful, and maybe a little extra credit in respecting our elders and seeking nourishment from them. If the sights around you aren’t enough to make you a student of nature – the sounds and scents are also quite a joy to take in. Many a person has been calmed by the lull of gentle waves gliding over the sand and taking out to sea all our worries.

And if you’ve ever had the pleasure of watching a storm over the ocean, you know that crashing waves can take on a very different persona, leaving anyone watching breathless. Maybe you can recall the calls of birds, deep croaking of frogs, or rustle of a breeze in the trees. When we take a minute to focus on what we hear, perhaps we’ll hear something deeper in nature’s songs.

Science has told us how scent is incredibly important, and marketing has used this to sell all sorts of things, from deodorant to laundry detergent, but nothing can beat the natural smells all around. Well, maybe not all the smells. Most of us probably can live without skunk smells. But what about that fresh, earthy after-rain scent? Or freshly mowed grass? Or spring blossoms? Or pine boughs or cinnamon? These are exactly the scents manufactured into candles sold from store shelves, but they’re also outside too and can bring up whole ranges of emotions and memories for us.

I propose that anything that can connect with our senses like nature does is worth paying attention to! When we do, we can notice the subtle ways Mother Nature imparts her intelligence to us.

The cycle of the seasons gives us rather obvious clues to a way we can move through life easily, too. A rotation of new dreams and beginnings can bring forth an active time to play and do and laugh and work. Following that we can enjoy the products we create, the abundance that we earn, what grows from our ideas and efforts.

And, at last we can rest a bit, letting the dust settle, giving our brains a rest and chance to grow as well as feeling the stirring of new notions beginning to swirl– bringing us back to the beginning again. This is the way of the seasons – spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

It can be repeated in our days, our weeks, our years. It’s a perfect and beautiful cycle. And not to be rushed. Each season has its place and purpose, for nature and for us. Of course, it’s not always that simple is it? In our daily routines we have interruptions like phone calls, fire drills, kids who pester with their constant needs and questions. Even during the best planned weeks, we’re likely working around meetings, appointments, and other people’s schedules. Looking at the whole year, there are birthdays, holidays, funerals, and illnesses. Overshadowing all of this are the really big things that throw us completely off like car accidents, cancer, or self-isolation and quarantine due to a pandemic.

Don’t worry, though, Mother Nature can lead us through these situations, too. She has her own storms to deal with. In fact, her biggest issues tend to overlap with ours – hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, to name a few. After each of these disruptions to her seasonal cycles, we see nature bounce back. New sprouts will form in the spring. Vines and trees will grow around and through debris left uncollected. Animals that scurried away will come back. And we can do this all too.

Like the best of teachers, we can enjoy learning from and through Mother Nature. We can appreciate her offerings, take in all the ways she smiles at us, soak in her wisdom. And even when we try to prove her wrong or ignore what we’ve learned, she’ll gladly welcome us back and help us to remember the lessons we’ve forgotten. And I think it’s time we accepted her offer to come back. Don’t you? And just so you don’t think I’ve forgotten my manners, I’ll add this - pretty please.