The Beauty of Nature

My column in Mindanao Daily News and BusinessWeek Mindanao

OPINION

By KLAUS DÖRING

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Even as a little boy, I enjoyed staying and playing outside. That was easy because I was born and raised in the deepest province in Germany. To this day, I am a great advocate for preserving nature. Some of previous columns at this corner may confirm that.

 

Honestly, have you ever thought about how beautiful nature is around us? Doesn’t it look just like a painting on canvas?

I have many times stood awestruck at the beauty of nature unfolding like magic. Just look at the colors scattered on the sky in the sunset. How versatile the sky is every day.

But, nature is quite tricky at times. Nature only reveals its beauty to people who really want to feel nature.You really have to start exploring nature to see its hidden gems.Many times you would have to hike the toughest route or walk the muddiest trail, to see nature at its best. But, the efforts would always be worth it.

Nature and its beauty are infinite. You really can see the beauty of nature in all things around you.

But, as Plato once said, ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder,’ it really matters how you see things around you. Some people find beauty and happiness in little things. But, some of us fail to see the beauty of nature around us.

Nature is splendid, beginning from the tiny butterflies and flowers to mountains and beaches. It never fails to amuse us. Just open your eyes and look around for a while. You will start seeing the beauty of nature in the very simple things around you.

 

Psalm 104 shows appreciation for every aspect of nature, even creatures like wild goats, lions and whales - just to mention a few. The author of Psalm 104 saw how the world fits together. Everything is in its proper sphere. At night, wild animals hunt; at daybreak humans go out to work. The rain falls, nourishing crops for people and grass for cattle, but also watering the forest to provide a place for birds to nest.

 

No, don't worry. I don't live in an illusory world. Let's put all natural disasters and climate change aside for a moment. Modern people are often preoccupied with the fear of overcrowding and poisoning nature. But you can still find beautiful parts in this country - alone and abandoned.

 

I think, in addition to the mental clarity of being called to our senses, I also believe nature makes people genuinely smarter. Everyone loves having fun and one thing I’ve learned is that nature really does have something fun for everyone.

 

And one more thing: it doesn’t matter if you’re an omnivore, carnivore, vegetarian or vegan… if it weren’t for nature, you wouldn’t have food. Worth to think about it... .

 

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Comments, suggestions or questions? Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or

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Wake Up In The Philippines

THE BEAUTY OF NATURE

In times with Covid-19, more and more friends of mine are enjoying to share beautiful places of Mindanao. Their posts on Facebook have been paired with the desire to going there if the coronavirus is gone. Then we might be free. We might be allowed to go wherever we want to go. Meanwhile, I shared the same desire and dreams with them too.

If you talk about the beauty of nature, automatically creation sings God's praise. Psalm 104 shows appreciation for every aspect of nature, even creatures like wild goats, lions, and others. The Israelites, as herders and farmers, had no romantic idealization of the outdoors. Nobody who herds sheep thinks of them as soft and fluffy pets. But to the poet who wrote Psalm 104, creatures that are no "use" to anyone still have intrinsic worth - especially to God.

The intertwining of nature is not, for the psalmist, like a complex machine, dangerously sensitive. Things fit together because a personal God watches over them. Every breath of life depends on His will.

Modern people nowadays are often preoccupied with the fear of overcrowding and poisoning nature. This might happen again if we are leaving free after the coronavirus lockdown has been lifted. The psalms show not such fear, for overcrowding and pollution were not major problems in that preindustrial civilization. Yet interestingly enough, the psalm ends with a wish that God would clean up the earth. The beauty of the earth, made by God, calls out for purity - purity of the heart.

If we will be "free" soon and able to discover our surroundings, we should ask ourselves, how does nature affect us. And, even more important: how do we affect nature?