A main reason we are not a part of the genius that surrounds us is culturally we have been encouraged to have ‘dominion’ over the earth and all its inhabitants, rather than live with the earth and all its inhabitants. We have the power to break away from that view by spending time in nature, appreciating the art and creativity of the universe. It is in a stillness and an inborn desire to find out how the universe accomplishes all it does with such patience and longsuffering when we begin to discover our place within that setting. The author refers to the tension between control and learning, which has a lot to do with our confusion as to who we really are-ego and divine.
Frankly this desire for more understanding for me heightened while learning sustainable farming techniques and how interconnected the activities of the soil web were with plant processes (primary decomposers, tertiary decomposers, nitrogen fixers) to nurse plants, plant communities, interdependence, and biodiversity. We as humans tend to muck it up by insisting on organizing this impressive chaos with monoculture mentality, synthetic inputs and genetic modifications. And, the patterns nature offers! http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm is a great introduction to the fabonacci number series phenomenon of shell spirals, pine needle arrangements, tree branch placement, daisy petals, sunflowers, and on and on!
Books I recommend from the Bioneers Series, Nature’s Operating Instructions, and Ecological Literacy, are invaluable in their oral history accounts and how to share the wonders of nature with children. The author here (Janine Benyus) is the first story in Nature’s Operating Instructions. She writes on pages 8-9, “One of the many gifts of biomimicry is that you enter into deep conversation with organisms, and this student-elder dialogue absolutely fills you with awe. Seeing nature as model, measure, and mentor changes the very way you view and value the natural world. Instead of seeing nature as warehouse, you begin to see her as teacher. Instead of valuing what you can extract from her, you value what you can learn from her…I’ve been on a quest to find people who are living in that fertile commingling place, the estuary between biology and human systems design.”
Our children need us to wake up and begin to honor the incredible experience of nature and all the wonders she reveals when we slow down enough to share with her, not extract from her…she is, after all, now theirs to learn from.
On Mar 19, 2012 Ricky wrote :
Frankly this desire for more understanding for me heightened while learning sustainable farming techniques and how interconnected the activities of the soil web were with plant processes (primary decomposers, tertiary decomposers, nitrogen fixers) to nurse plants, plant communities, interdependence, and biodiversity. We as humans tend to muck it up by insisting on organizing this impressive chaos with monoculture mentality, synthetic inputs and genetic modifications. And, the patterns nature offers! http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17.htm is a great introduction to the fabonacci number series phenomenon of shell spirals, pine needle arrangements, tree branch placement, daisy petals, sunflowers, and on and on!
Books I recommend from the Bioneers Series, Nature’s Operating Instructions, and Ecological Literacy, are invaluable in their oral history accounts and how to share the wonders of nature with children. The author here (Janine Benyus) is the first story in Nature’s Operating Instructions. She writes on pages 8-9, “One of the many gifts of biomimicry is that you enter into deep conversation with organisms, and this student-elder dialogue absolutely fills you with awe. Seeing nature as model, measure, and mentor changes the very way you view and value the natural world. Instead of seeing nature as warehouse, you begin to see her as teacher. Instead of valuing what you can extract from her, you value what you can learn from her…I’ve been on a quest to find people who are living in that fertile commingling place, the estuary between biology and human systems design.”
Our children need us to wake up and begin to honor the incredible experience of nature and all the wonders she reveals when we slow down enough to share with her, not extract from her…she is, after all, now theirs to learn from.