“Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another.” – John Muir

I came upon this quote a couple of years ago and since then I have revisited it several times.  It has tugged on my mind from time to time and caused me to think heavily upon it.  I realize it is short but there is a lot to learn from these few words.

Funny how life works.  I for some reason could never exactly wrap my little mind around this quote a friend called and in conversation mentioned a work by Ralph Waldo Emerson titled “Circles”.   My good friend encouraged me to read it and a light bulb went off over my head like in the cartoons.  Nature is nothing more than a circle.

Native Americans were very spiritual and they believed dearly in the Sacred Circle.  The power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round.  Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle.  The sky is round, earth is round, moon is round, bird’s nest is round and the sun is round.  Their tipis were even round.

The butterfly lays an egg, the egg hatches and becomes a caterpillar, then the caterpillar forms a cocoon then another butterfly emerges.  The riparian system along the rivers are constantly repairing themselves except where man has made it impossible for it to repair itself.  Leaves on the trees appear in the springtime and give shade to the forest floor so plants can grow.  The leaves drop off in the fall and then fall to the ground where they self compost into the ground adding the nutrients that plants and trees need for proper growth.  Perfect circles of existence.

The creatures of nature have no time to rest.  Have you ever watched a spider spin its web?  I spent three hours one day watching just that.  How could something that seemed so simple be so fascinating?  I never saw something work so hard non-stop.  The intricate design of the web itself left me speechless.  The spider worked relentlessly against the wind and every time there was a setback the spider would overcome and work on.     Nature provides creatures with food during the spring, summer, and fall, then they are on their own.  Just an example of the circle of life in nature.   The weak will not make it and they will die and that spring newborns will take their place.

Nature is so much more than pretty flowers, trees, animals and sunsets/sunrises.  It has to balance things too as it goes along.  Man has made that job pretty hard by meddling in Nature’s business.  When we eliminate predators the end result is more animals that multiply unchecked because of our interference.  We add levees and cause major flooding instead of just leaving it alone and letting Nature take care of it.

Nature can be relentless and forgiving.  Nature can create a tornado that leaves destruction for miles and when the storm moves on, produce the most breathtaking painting anyone ever saw in the form of a rainbow.

” The laws of nature are written deep in the folds and faults of the earth.  By encouraging men to learn those laws one can lead them further to a knowledge of the author of the laws.” – John Joseph Lynch

Man needs to learn these laws and everything in nature would happen in a perfect circle.  We build levees and dams to tame the rivers, we develop chemical applications to control bugs, weeds and unwanted grasses.  When we do this we interrupt that natural circle.  We do it in order, supposedly, to produce more food with less expense.  We do it in the name of saving the world.  What if we push Nature to the point that she deems it necessary to rid herself of meddling humans in the form of volcanoes, massive earthquakes, “perfect storms” etc.?

It is time for us to do something about all of the polluting and destruction of Mother Earth.  Clean up the trash that plaques the countryside.  It is time to start respecting Mother Nature.  I do a lot of floating and I don’t know how many gravel bars I have cleaned up,  It disgusts me the lack of respect my fellow humans have for what Nature has given us.

This is a subject I am very passionate about.  It sickens me when I see all the litter along the roads and countryside.  It is time to give Nature the respect she deserves.  I am sorry this was a little long.  I apologize.  I hope you enjoyed my blog.  If you liked it please hit the “like” button to let me know.  Thanks for reading.

“We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts.”  –  William Hazlett