My Relationship With Nature and English 3110

I close my eyes and go to my “happy place.”  My lungs fill up with air as I inhale and, with my exhale, my eyes open to my alternate reality.  I am surrounded by an endless meadow, lush with colors so saturated that the employees of Crayola would scratch their heads trying to name them.  Before me stands a claw-foot bathtub reflecting enough sunlight to make it glow and sparkle as if the basin were under a spotlight.  A layer of bubbles nearly twelve inches in height conceals the tepid water encompassed by the porcelain tub.  I am lured in by the offer of serenity as I slide into the bath, holding my breath in anticipation of the immediate benefit coming my way.  Yes, I realize I’ve placed a modern, nothing-to-do-with-nature item in nature, and I have implied that this is my “happy place.”

            I often find myself somewhere in between rooting for the natural world and for the technological world.  On the one hand, I find myself incredibly annoyed by e-mails and an array of updates from Facebook, Blogger, WIKI, and countless other electronic communication systems, as well as the demand for instantaneous work and response; however, the efficiency gained by technology is almost addicting.  Planes, trains, and automobiles, so they say.  The idea that I could go anywhere in the entire world if I wanted to is enticing, but the majority of the pull towards travel is the striking beauty in nature across the globe.  I find myself identifying with Bill Bryson, who had a love for nature, but Bryson did not have any idea what he was getting into.  I have a love for nature as well, but I have never done any serious camping or hiking, so if I were to go out on a trek I would most likely have an experience similar to Bryson’s wake-up call.

            The scene Bryson paints with his words as he shops for camping gear made me laugh out loud.  Bryson goes to a store his son works at to purchase equipment, he explains:

“…I was under strict instructions of good behavior.  Specifically, I was not to say or do anything stupid, try on anything that would require me to expose my stomach, say ‘Are you shitting me?’ when informed of the price of a product…and above all don anything inappropriate, like a woman’s ski hat, in an attempt to amuse.”

I felt that Bryson’s work was so easy to connect to because he was just a regular guy who likes nature, but it makes me feel like I could go out and hike even though I’m as clueless as Bryson was.

            On a more sentimental note I was able to connect with Tom Springer.  Springer took me back to my childhood as he described his adventure searching for fossils, when nature came alive Springer captured his excitement:

“The alchemy of childhood turned each shell and hunk of porous stone into a rare and wonderful fossil.  Suddenly we were more than just nine-year-old suburban kids […] We were boy gods, present at the exhuming of creation.  I had never felt such a sense of wild discovery.”

This essay was so easy to relate to in comparison to my own childhood in “suburbia.”  Where I grew up, my sister and my friends and I had to create a lot of our own adventures; pretending a tiny bike path off of the main road was the back woods or searching for gold in a patch of dirt by the playground were normal after-school activities for my friends and I.  The wonders of nature can be found in places one would never expect, and a small piece of nature with a big imagination can go a long way.

            My ideas about nature haven’t gone through an extreme change, but I definitely feel more educated about some issues I probably would not have otherwise stumbled across.  When we discussed eating locally in class, knowing that I had been doing a lot of that in my life made me feel happy and appreciate my family’s values.  I also really enjoyed learning about urban forestation as it applies to my life, and I have definitely gained some perspective about where I want to live in the future.  Overall I appreciated the reminder of my relationship with nature and how it is imperative for me to maintain it and help it grow throughout my life.

Stubborn Leaves

The first few weeks of fall are always beautiful, but fleeting.  Not long after the alluring colors of the leaves fill the sky do they become crisp in the dry air, turn to a dull brown, and fall to the ground.  Naked trees cover the landscape, leaving you feeling cold and alone like the trees must feel without the warmth and elegance of the leaves that once enveloped them like a blanket.  As a student teacher my senior year of high school, right outside the first graders’ door was this tremendous tree that seemed infallible to the change.  Green leaves adorn the branches for what seems like eternity until finally, they all turn an impossible shade of goldenrod, creating an image second only to the sun.  This state does not last very long either.  I watch as the children become more restless each day, staring out the window at the tree, waiting for what they know is coming.  All of the leaves fall within forty-eight hours, creating a frenzy at recess only equaled by the first snowfall heavy enough to allow for the building of the first snowman.

Luckily, I happened to be present that day with my camera for photography class.  The children ran outside screaming, barely taking the time to properly zip their jackets, put on their gloves and tie their shoes.  The photographs I took that day made up my favorite roll of film for the entire semester.  Capturing the looks on the children’s faces was unforgettable as I became consumed by my own nostalgia.  And guess what?  Those kids, completely absorbed in play with happiness beaming from their faces, weren’t at Chuck E. Cheese or a theme park, they weren’t playing video games or watching T.V., they were running around outside, connecting with nature, and completely content.

A Boy and a Girl

Poetry has always been a tricky form of writing for me.  On the one hand, I love it and think it’s beautiful, but at the same time I feel like some poetry is solely for the poet, and nobody else can really feel what they were feeling when the text was written.  I’ve always found that I connected with poetry most when I was singing it.  When I sing poetry I feel it; I feel the rhythms of the words and the emotion behind it and become so moved by the text I sometimes find myself in tears because the lyrics, the poetry, is so beautiful you give it everything you have just to do it justice.  When I performed pieces by Eric Whitacre, this feeling was overwhelming.  My senior year, our director introduced to us a piece called “Sleep.”  We fell in love with it, and later found out the music was originally written for Robert Frost’s “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”  Although it was basically illegal, we printed off Frost’s poem during class one day and performed the piece in it’s original glory, and it was absolutely breathtaking, although I do love the lyrics for sleep.  However, nothing would beat my first Eric Whitacre piece, “A Boy and a Girl.”

This piece is about nature giving life, nourishing love, and how we become one with the earth when we pass.  When you only look at the lyrics it seems to be a very short poem, but when performed it’s four and a half minutes of exquisite art.

Stretched out on the grass, 
a boy and a girl.
Savoring their oranges, 
giving their kisses like waves exchanging foam. 

Stretched out on the beach, 
a boy and a girl. 
Savoring their limes, 
giving their kisses like clouds exchanging foam.

Stretched out underground, 
a boy and a girl.
Saying nothing, never kissing, 
giving silence for silence.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpog3w98Tz0&feature=related

To me, this is where the poetry comes alive. So much is said with the chords, the dissonance, the pauses, and the expansion of phrases to show me what the text can’t. When poetry is combined with music, I get it, and it will stay with me forever.

"Mother" Nature

Unfortunately, nature isn’t always nice.  She doesn’t care if you wanted to go for a run today, or it you really don’t feel like wearing your rain boots, hat, scarf, gloves, sweater, and windbreaker while carrying flip flops, a t-shirt, shorts and bathing suit because you never know what she’s going to do.  I realize I said she when I referred to nature, and here’s my rationale.  Nature can be nurturing.  Nature provides beauty, peace, a home, and nutrition to keep you strong.  Nature created the wonders of the world and her changes are incessant.  Nature gives life, and of course all of these marvelous contributions to humanity can only be reflected in a woman, but so can her wrath.  Nature is self-destructive, and when she wants to, she will take out anything in her path.  In some ways she’s even passive aggressive,  “Oh you think you can just do whatever you want to me and get away with it?” Whamo. Hurricane, tornado, volcano eruption, avalanche, flood, mudslide, you name it.  But she isn’t just nature, she’s Mother Nature, and a mother should be respected.  If Mother Nature is to go on creating life and these wonders, we must take care of her, nurture her, and preserve her if we want to continue living in her beauty.

We take Mother Nature for granted too often, and many of our speakers, literature, and class sessions focus on that very fact.  Simple things like turning off the water while you're brushing your teeth, flipping the light switch when you leave the room, planting flowers or trees, or growing your own garden to add flavor to your cooking are all manageable activities for the common person.  There are so many beautiful places in nature, and we need to find ways to use what she provides for us without damaging her.  It's time for people to take an individual responsibility in caring for our earth.

Everyday Music

Leaves seem to change colors right before my eyes as I walk the trail alongside Arboretum Parkway.  The reds, oranges, yellows and goldenrods are so rich in color and detail; each leaf looks as if it was fashioned at the hand of a masterful artist.  Beauty such as this in nature is mirrored in music, and whether I'm going for a walk in the woods on a trail or I'm on my way to class, life deserves a soundtrack.  For me, nature and music have always gone hand in hand.  When I turn on a song that soothes my soul, I feel it and see it reflected in nature.  All of a sudden I see the rhythm in the trees as the wind blows the branches, decorated by hundreds of individual works of art.  The wind rushes past me on its path through the woods.  At times it strikes so violently the leaves fall like rain to the ground with each drop revealing a distinctive hue.  My feet form to the ground with each step, falling in time with the sound echoing in my ears.  My heart beats with the earth.  I look to the sky and feel the sun kissing my face, sending a surge of heat through my body as nature, music, and my spirit become one.

Nature field trips.

I had heard of the Kalamazoo Nature Center, but I had never been there before.  I was picturing in my head the small nature centers in my hometown, and was blown away by the vastness.  Although we only had a short time to walk around, it was a wonderful experience.  At first when we got there I found myself in field trip mode.  Follow the path, listen to the tour guide, and try not to fall over anything.  I almost forgot to look around.  I can't say I'm really attracted to the the tall grasses,  I am definitely more of a woods kind of a girl.  The intense mass of a tree has always awed me, and especially during this time of year, the leaves are truly breathtaking.  All the colors in nature are more amazing than any artist could paint, and any picture could capture.  A tree makes me think of life, oxygen, protection.  I wish I could articulate what seeing masses of trees or even a single tree is like for me.  Everyone sees things differently and defines beauty in their own way.
I would definitely like to go back there and see more of it.  I really liked the idea of going there to journal.  I don't necessarily think I would want to write about nature while I was there, but being in nature makes you feel grounded.  I find that I can only really write about my thoughts or feelings when I'm in a safe place.  Also, I have a hard time writing my ideas on the computer.  For these assignments, I normally have to write them down on paper and then type them into the blog system.  Writing is a personal experience for me, and I don't do it as often as I probably should.  I guess I feel like I need to be in a certain mood to write, or in a certain place.  One place I really like to write is on a little stone bench in my backyard, and I'd really like to find a place here where I feel that way too.

Disney does nature.

I've been watching a lot of Disney movies lately, and the message about respecting nature has always been very prominent.  Most recently I've watched Pocahontas, The Lion King, and Fern Gully.  They all address a deep connection with nature, the web of life, and the power of all living things.  These are children's movies full of these concepts, reiterating the idea that they are simple.  Sometimes I wonder if they are so simple that it makes people oblivious to them.  For me, it's hard to remind myself of things that are happening in the environment because I feel so separated from them.  I didn't grow up with environmental issues because there wasn't a lot of environment around me.  We have a couple of nature preserves, two or three small wooded areas and a prairie are all I am aware of in my hometown.
Before the credits of Fern Gully, the screen reads, "For our children and our children's children."  This class has really opened my eyes to the importance of preserving nature.  If we don't preserve what nature is left, our children will never see it.  I also took a class called Geology of National Parks through WMU.  I had never realized how many national parks there actually were, and definitely never realized how beautiful they were.  I would love to take a week or two next summer to tour some of them and just walk, camp, and be a part of nature.  The most camping I've ever done has been in my backyard or friends' backyards in our neighborhood, so now that I'm older, I want to take advantage of the things I never knew were there.