A friend's friend asked a beautiful question:
P: If nature is so beautiful, so superlative, and so exhilarating, why is it that man who lives amidst it is almost drowned in unhappiness, in sorrow, and in dejection? To the extant that nature gives us joy and happiness, to the same degree of negativity does man abide in. What is the reason for this paradox?
Me: Dear P,
I am not attempting to answer your question, because I am unsure if there can be an absolute answer to such a profound inquiry. But instead I would like to simply share some of my feelings that got evoked around it.
Having spent a lot of time in nature, I do not feel that nature only gives joy and happiness. Nature can also be very harsh. I have been stung by insects, bruised and scraped and developed painful infections while farming. I also know of people who have died from snake bites.
Nature is like Life - it will bring beauty, exhilaration and happiness. It will also bring pain, ugliness and loneliness. The sooner we accept this the better. For the more we fight the pain or harshness, the more we'll drain ourselves.
(We only want pleasure and seek it in products, places, people, etc and become sad when life is not just 'happy' all the time! But what might be more valuable is to cultivate capacity, patience and tolerance. That is - 'not to be passive', but even if we do feel like fighting against a problem - which is also important at times, that too can come from some acceptance and calm.) Good and bad, are like leaves that appear and fall away, like waves that arise and pass - as a law of nature.
Having said that, I also feel that when in nature, it is easiest to connect with our inner ebb and tide. Somehow nature lends itself to help us listen to the subtle workings within ourself more sensitively and acutely. Nature is constantly in movement, breathing, birthing and dying around us. Many other artificial spaces are stagnant and makes us 'thick' and 'insensitive' to deeply listen - to realize that there are these arisings and passings of pain and pleasure in our own body every moment like an endless repetitive loop. And that there is also something beyond, in its vast silence.
Love,
Nirali
