Nature is a blessed mother

In favourable conditions nature is a blessed mother. When she does our bidding she is glorious and we soak her in like a drug. We bast in a new greenness of spring, the heat of a sultry summer and the brilliant shades of fall. Yet when she blows a hurricane, sends a tsunami or shakes the ground she is cruel. But perhaps what we like least is the reminder that nature is not there for us, the world is not a gift to humanity. We are creatures of nature, just the same as any other, only with a few more toys and a bigger ego. 

I walk out towards the balcony that I've grown fond of. The balcony grew from the walls of the house as generous arms from a host, or perhaps those of a mother to cradle her infant child. In this light that paints my skin so warmly, the trees are dancing ladies, each in dresses more fabulous than any designer can craft. They move, choreographed by the wind, in perfect time with one another. They are the life and soul of this early summer morning, and I wonder how many hues of green my eyes are witnessing. As they stretch upwards and outwards toward the light, drinking in rays as pure as rain, I stretch my arms up too, fingers spread toward the sun and slowly begin to dance. 

In the fresh air my lungs expand as if on automatic refill, and with the rising of my chest comes a sense of calm. The sweet breeze gives air richer in carbon-dioxide to the flora, and the flora gives air richer in oxygen in return. 

The world is certainly a quieter place these days of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With cars off the streets, seismologists investigating earthquakes in London, Brussels and Los Angeles report that the ambient noise levels are so low they are now better able to detect even smaller seismic events in these cities. 

The silence caressed my skin like a cool breeze, smoothing my soul, taking away my jagged edges. I loved the random sounds that came sailing in the breeze; the bird song came so sweetly, almost tangible, as if it were softly spun sugar. I would sit there upon the clouds that were my dreams until, as the ones above are so prone to do, they condensed to form the random ideas that quench my mind. It is one of those quiet days where ideas come as natural things to do - from the sunshine, rain and earth. Silence lingered in the air, thick and heavy, like a blanket. Wherever I moved, the silence followed, always watching never fading. My own, personal shadow.

 

Slowly, I walked towards my bedroom and sat on the silk mattress. I grab my sleek and shiny laptop which is probably thinner than an average school textbook but containing the knowledge of a whole world, all at the click of a mouse and the touch of a button. I quickly started my research for the recent task that we have been assigned. As time passed, I lost myself in the pictures of beautiful nature amidst COVID-19 lockdown. 

The flowers lay scattered on the grass like frozen flames. Each one is a delicate bloom, no matter if it is a formal garden or a waste land. I feel that they are nature's graffiti, that chaotic rebellious element cheering us on. These are real flowers that look painted by a carnival queen. Nothing was too bright, nothing was big and bold. If I take eyes off my screen, this tropical world will become a kaleidoscope, blurred, spinning and brilliant.   

In water more blue than any ocean the dolphin leaps high into the muggy air. From his shiny grey topside and whiter under belly fly water droplets, cascading down, bejewelled in light. His body arcs and tail flips and down he goes with a splash. The dolphin makes his way through the waters he has known all his life, swimming with family he loves so dearly.

If any part of creation is God's more beautiful dream, it is those corals in those warm seas. To see them is enchanting, truly. The coral looked like an exuberant carnival, as if those nature-sequinned fish deserved such a vibrant home. If it hadn't existed it would have been a masterstroke of imagination to breathe it upon a canvas. It is most humble pastel palace Earth or heaven could provide. 

There is a certain kind of beauty that is only found in the wild. It is where there is such liberty that organic shapes reach and sway to build their own living art, their own community. The nature in these woods does not care for sentimentality, it does not give to a person who cannot take for themselves. It hides its bounty below bark and soil, its secrets not for the casual observer or the frivolous visitor. It cares not that you are sentient, it will welcome your nutrients to the soil as well as any other creature of God.

Picture after picture, video after video, I didn't realise how fast the time flies until I was called for supper. Nature is a million links, billions of interspecies interactions and weather systems too strong to tame. It's easy to think of her as indestructible, always able to bounce back. In a way that is true, even if the entire ecosystem collapsed, nature would start again with the bacteria just as before. 

-DC