Nature

Before I begin, I have to admit I have two biases that may have had authority over me in my time around the Lion’s bridge. One influence is that I was tired, and the other is that I am a biology major. My major often causes me to think reductively about nature and may diminish the way in which I communicate with it, on occasion. 

The nature around the Lion’s bridge told me two things Tuesday: rest, there is balance. I was sitting in the grass by the Horse’s statue and I felt the cool breeze gently pushing me towards the ground. It was calming, assuring me after a long day that rest could come. While acknowledging my bias, I should also point out that this is not the only time I have received this message from this place. I have come to the Lion’s Bridge before, late at night, stopping to gaze at the stars for a time; this place has always been calming to me, even if I’ve come on a run. The calm is not something I see in the place, there’s clearly a wild element there (Gatta, 210). Instead, I am a recipient of the calm, possibly out of some silent reassurance gleaned from nature’s wild character (213).

The wild character is often what I think about when I’m in nature. I recognize a balance, which scientifically is called homeostasis. In this balance, I see the deer on the lakeside drinking water, the goose resting and hoping I don’t come too close, the tree sowing its fruit (acorns) hoping for the chance at continuing the species. This tree spoke most to me, perhaps because I could reach and feel it, and question it’s presence and spirit. I felt the waxy leaves pinched between my fingers, telling me of its commitment to survive the winter. Again, I see balance in this being’s consideration for the seasons.

Beyond the leaves, I examined the small part of this being’s limb to which they were attached. Here, I saw three acorns: two dark and one green. For reasons I do not know, this branch spoke peace, reminding me of an olive branch. This peace spoken to me was a simple reminder about balance; when weary, rest.