By Aviva Channells.
Surrounded by an orange plain. The vivid hue, with such a specificity to the area, so starkly contrasted with the typical muted browns and cliché greens of lands across the sea. The forms and surfaces of the trees, shrubs, and grasses, pushing through and beyond the earth, share this, and have their place.
Within this vastness, the small oddities catch my attention: the one pink flower among the dark, thick leaves below the towering trees. This flower, so enchanting in its vibrance and individuality, prospers among the more rigid beings with its meticulously formed petals and ability to charm the eyes.
The rustling of fine grasses, the clashing of strong leaves, the creaking of trees straining with age, and the piercing bird calls act as the perfect accompaniment to the all-encompassing, ever-present array of visuals.
Everything so divinely designed to flourish in an environment so full of hardship. Everything belonging with and depending on one another; a community, a family. The presence of my body, sweltering with polyester draped from it, among this coherence seems utterly incongruous; a black sheep.
To us, it may seem as though we must remain in this role, due to our ingenuity and arrogance restricting us from moving beyond mere coexistence with and defiance of nature. Yet, we have an ability to find a place in it.
Once we allow her, nature offers an unconditional embrace.
All have a place below noble trees, beside friendly shrubs, beneath the dazzling sun. These will extend guardianship, protection and a warm touch to even the most imperfect person. All can observe, breathe in, hold, dance among and walk through nature. All are given the honour to experience profound inspiration and sincere calm from it.
Nature acts as a forgiving, ever-loving friend from the past. The people we were in our juvenescence reciprocated this unconditional compassion. Our virtuous eyes, not yet perceiving the monotony of life, kindly included the twigs, trees and toadstools in our merrymaking. There is an unspoken closeness between a child and the landscape that surrounds them – a simple pleasure in company, a peace so perfect.
Once the wide eyes that fostered this appreciation become weighted with the repetitiveness and sorrows that come with extended years, the bond between the two beings fades. We begin to push away this friend to give time to supposedly more meaningful things.
We have become so influenced by the pressures and constraints of society that we have lost sight of what we are, human.
Etymologically the word, in part, means ‘earthling’. We are of the Earth. We belong and flourish with other earthlings– trees, grass, flowers, birds, fish, and mammals. ‘Human’ is not innately synonymous with worker or studier; we have only made it seem this way. We allow ourselves to be reduced to what we can provide and produce, rather than who we are and how we can simply be.
We are now making our friend a foe. We are not repaying the kindness nature has shown us for so long.
With every vehicle driven, every trunk broken, every mass of food wasted, our old friend’s graciousness dwindles. Nature has begun to unleash the pain and anger we have inflicted back onto us.
We cannot allow for our home to crack and wrinkle with us.
We are intended to have a reciprocal relationship with nature – to support each other and prosper together.
So open your eyes again to the great wonders of the Earth. Take up our old friend’s offer of tranquility, beauty, imagination, and protection. Become mesmerized by it. Allow yourself to experience the vastness of nature, to no longer be weighed down by the strains of life we have created.
Experience gentle breezes and howling winds, sodden earth and gritty sand, sweet, floral scents and sharp, eucalyptus fragrances, light kisses of rain and thrashing waves.
Experience peace.
Experience life.