Natural Experience

My most memorable and inspiring experience with the non-human natural world occurred during my first camping trip as a child, which was basically for all intensive purposes my first experience interacting with real, unrefined wilderness in general. On the second day of our stay at the campsite in upstate New York, my father, brother and I embarked on a "nature walk", exploring the forests and seemingly never ending forestry that surrounded our tent. While my Dad and brother waded into the nearby river at the edge of the forest- I decided to go explore the woods on my own. After a few minutes I was lost, but instead of panicking, engulfed by thoughts that I would starve in the forest alone, I remained calm-simply enjoying the naturalism that surrounded me. And spent the rest of the afternoon/next couple of hours exploring, collecting interesting stones, leaves and sticks that I came across. I returned to the campsite later on, to find my panicking family there worrying, in talks with the park ranger-but my experience and seemingly easy accomodation and enjoyment of my encounter with the woods proved how much I enjoyed the solitude and relaxation offered by the woodlands, which is somewhat surprising considering my urban upbringing.

This described fundamental experience with nature, the magic it bestows and the calm it brings to those who can, for a second, untie themselves from their busy preoccupied lives to enjoy the most basic, beautiful experiences offered by our environment, represents the primacy of nature-and why "saving it" should be a fundamental concern of all of humanity. The "magic" of engaging with nature, in my opinion-speaks to what's important in our lives, and allows us to think outside of the typically cyclical, work-based societies we are all a part of. Aside from the aesthetic beauty and experience proffered by nature, its basic elements and resources that it bestows to the planet is what sustains us, what keeps us running on a daily basis. To disregard nature, and thus to disrespect the bounty of resources we use to stay alive by abusing, overusing, and eventually depleting these resources, is effectually an attack to ourselves, and an even further/more potent blow to future human generations as it results in a loss in a resource that potentially could be vital to our sustenance and continual existence on the planet. For these reasons, the aesthetic and vital importance of nature & its resources to humanity, I believe it is the plight of all inhabitants of the planet to consider actively "saving nature", or at the least, doing all we can individually to minimize our harmful and detrimental impact on the environment, as one of our many "raisons d'etre", especially in light of the environmental crisis.