Journal #1
The way that I can describe nature is basically everything that I don’t have a control on it, but, that doesn 't mean that I can 't have an interaction with it. Most of my experiences with nature came from my interactions with either wild animals that I have rescued or pets. Those interactions made a big impact on my life as I used to spend hours with animals every single day in my life. My experiences have a grown more and more as much more time that I spend with animals which as a result of that, it made me work with even more challenging animals over the time and I will never regret it. Sometimes when I think about a question about anything, I can always find the answer by just spending some time with what ever I was curious
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Although I don 't think that I 've ever spent more than a three days camping, but, I used to go to the camp every single week. The camp was in the middle of the desert where there is nothing but sand around you. It’s so quiet and peaceful away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Because we used to go a lot, we developed a some sort of a lifestyle there, and at least to me, it felt like a second home. As always, starting the day by either exploring the place, offroading or may be shooting targets and then ending the day with fireworks and cooking our dinner. Even though we were having a totally different lifestyle there, it still does feel like home to me and that is the time when I call nature a …show more content…
I don’t remember most of what we did, but I can see some random scenes in my head. I remember finding the lizards everywhere; in parks, streets and even in our hotel room. Probably it was one of the first times “from what I can remember” that I had a real interaction with some either wild or domesticated animals. I still remember some of the big open fields with hundreds of kangaroos, you can buy some food and you only have to step and closer a bit. Tens of kangaroos will come over to you to just to get some whatever is in your hand. It was a great experience to me especially that I was way smaller than the kangaroos. I felt that I was so small, even though kangaroos are cute, but their size in compare to me made them intimidating. I was a bit scared and happy at the same time because I’ve never ever thought that I will have the opportunity to do such thing like that. Maybe that 's why I 'm in love with the wildlife
The wild is a place to push yourself to the limit and take a look at who you truly are inside. “Wilderness areas have value as symbols of unselfishness” (Nash). Roderick Nash’s philosophy states that the wilderness gives people an opportunity to learn humility but they fight this because they do not have a true desire to be humble. Human-kind wants to give out the illusion that they are nature lovers when in reality, they are far from it. “When we go to designated wilderness we are, as the 1964 act says, "visitors" in someone else's home” (Nash). People do not like what they cannot control and nature is uncontrollable. Ecocentrism, the belief that nature is the most important element of life, is not widely accepted. The novel Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer depicts a young boy who goes on an exploration to teach himself the true concept of humility. Chris McCandless, the protagonist, does not place confidence in the universal ideology that human beings are the most significant species on the planet, anthropocentrism.
The wilderness allows people to escape the crazy hectic lives they live daily and just unwind. Chris McCandless was “ unheeded, happy, and near to the wild heart,” throughout his soul-searching journey in the wilderness (Krakauer 31). Many people like Chris will experience different sensations in the serene wilderness, however it calls
From the lone hiker on the Appalachian Trail to the environmental lobby groups in Washington D.C., nature evokes strong feelings in each and every one of us. We often struggle with and are ultimately shaped by our relationship with nature. The relationship we forge with nature reflects our fundamental beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. The works of timeless authors, including Henry David Thoreau and Annie Dillard, are centered around their relationship to nature.
In Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer explores the human fascination with the purpose of life and nature. Krakauer documents the life and death of Chris McCandless, a young man that embarked on an Odyssey in the Alaskan wilderness. Like many people, McCandless believed that he could give his life meaning by pursuing a relationship with nature. He also believed that rejecting human relationships, abandoning his materialistic ways, and purchasing a book about wildlife would strengthen his relationship with nature. However, after spending several months enduring the extreme conditions of the Alaskan wilderness, McCandless’ beliefs begin to work against him. He then accepts that he needs humans, cannot escape materialism, and can never fully understand how nature functions. Most importantly, he realizes that human relationships are more valuable than infinite solitude. McCandless’ gradual change of heart demonstrates that exploring the wilderness is a transformative experience. Krakauer uses the life and death of Chris McCandless to convey that humans need to explore nature in order to discover the meaning of life.
Wilderness is a highly idealized concept in today’s society – we simply put it on a pedestal and choose to admire it as we see fit. Nature and wilderness are considered distant and remote concepts, separate from our everyday, civilized lives. By approaching the natural realm in this sense, we simply detach ourselves from our origin, which leaves us to fantasize about the great outdoors as an escape from the artificial creations of our everyday life. This desire to escape our artificial lives has lead to the construction of locations such as national parks, which merely appear to be the natural world, yet in reality they are simply just facets of the modernized world we have created.
Years ago my family took a trip to Yellowstone National Park. I chose this common experience for this memory assignment. First, I made a list of all the things I remembered from my trip at Yellowstone. I remembered we traveled in our motorhome and got halfway to our destination and parked on the side of the road and slept there for the night. I remember seeing the famous geyser; Old Faithful, in addition to seeing lots of bison, and bears. I recall one night that we stayed in a campground bears were in the campground and we were being told to stay in our campers. I also remember during the trip my dad would give me all the spare change and I would collect it. I saved the change up to buy souvenirs or candy. I also remember going to a shirt
In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Nature”, he develops his own perspective on the interconnection between humans and nature. As an admirable essayist and transcendentalist, he believed that man can have the ability to go and find the Truth in solitude and nature, and can return to reason and faith. “You cannot see the mountain near.” When one is near a mountain, it looks enormous; however, you can see it in its entirety from a far distance. There is no need to even perceive it as a challenge, especially if instead we focus on one rock at a time; loving and appreciating the journey. Having the right perspective towards things can help form a healthy reality. He believed nature could positively change people’s outlooks in life. In Emerson’s view, “Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” In other words, he is saying that however someone feels is how they will view nature. From his experiences, he believes if a man becomes part of nature once again, loses his egotism and becomes a lover of beauty, then he has become a “transparent eyeball.” Having experience as Emerson did with nature can make one’s perspective more valuable and precious in this
In Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie noticed while living in the Everglades that some of the Indians started leaving the town and heading east. She also noticed that the animals started to scatter as well. Janie asked one of the Indians why they were leaving and he said that there was a hurricane approaching. The park ranger that guided us on the slough slog informed the class that this is a fact. The animals as well as the sawgrass know when hurricanes are approaching. The Indians these days know when a hurricane is approaching as well. Yet, these days they most likely find out from the weather channel reports on their big-screen TV's in their casinos instead of analyzing whether or not the sawgrass is blooming! It would have been interesting to have had class this Friday to see for ourselves if the blooming of sawgrass is indeed a fact now that Hurricane Michelle is approaching.
Everywhere we look, we are encircled by nature and its wonders. Nature comes in many different ways. It depends on us how we view nature. Everyone has their own opinion and reaction to nature. When we hear nature the first thing that comes to our mind is trees, flowers, mountains, waterfalls and many others. Flowers have their own significance which lightens up life. We all admire flowers and love their natural scent and colors. They make any occasion colorful. I went to Butchart Garden in Victoria, Canada and this is where I fell in love with nature.
Enjoy a little fishing, or some bird watching, or whatever you like doing when you are among nature. As the sun sets, you leisurely cook a delicious meal and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature. When you feel like going to bed, you look around until you spot two trees about the right distance apart to hang a hammock. You shake out your camping hammock, that weights only one pound, no more than two, and stretch it out easily. After tossing a blanket and a mosquito net over your new sleeping bed, you settle back in perfect comfort to watch the stars until you drift off to sleep.
My family and I rarely went on outings; my parents were always busy or at work. Likewise, family trips or vacations were something my parents could not afford. The first time I ever fully experienced the beauty of nature was when I went on a week long trip with my fifth grade class to an outdoor school. This was the first time I went on a real hike and the first time I was really in the middle of nature. Walking through the forest, listening to the birds chirp and the graceful movement of the leaves in the wind changed my perspective. That week, I realized how much beauty there was to discover on Earth. My relationship with the environment started during that trip in fifth grade as I realized that the world is such an immense place full of things to admire and unearth. It was something wholly new to me. I fell in love with the
The sunset was not spectacular that day. The vivid ruby and tangerine streaks that so often caressed the blue brow of the sky were sleeping, hidden behind the heavy mists. There are some days when the sunlight seems to dance, to weave and frolic with tongues of fire between the blades of grass. Not on that day. That evening, the yellow light was sickly. It diffused softly through the gray curtains with a shrouded light that just failed to illuminate. High up in the treetops, the leaves swayed, but on the ground, the grass was silent, limp and unmoving. The sun set and the earth waited.
To understand the nature-society relationship means that humans must also understand the benefits as well as problems that arise within the formation of this relationship. Nature as an essence and natural limits are just two of the ways in which this relationship can be broken down in order to further get an understanding of the ways nature and society both shape one another. These concepts provide useful approaches in defining what nature is and how individuals perceive and treat
The power of nature is all around us and can be found almost anywhere. One is able to study nature through experiencing it firsthand, looking at a picture, watching a movie, or even reading a familiar children’s story. I believe that by learning more about nature we can grow closer to God. Emerson states, “Nature is so pervaded in human life, that there is something of humanity in all, and in every particular” (Emerson 508). Like Emerson, I believe that humanity and nature were created by God and we can learn more about the Spirit of God by studying nature. I also see that nature has the power to influence our emotions and actions. I see evidence of this through various landscapes such as the desert, the beach, the mountains and the jungle. I thought about the vastness of the desert during a recent trip to the desert with my class. I think about nature and my love for it when I am scanning through my photo album and see pictures that capture me enjoying the mountains of Utah. When I watched the movie The Beach I was struck out how nature, specifically the beautiful beaches of Thailand, influenced the actions of every character in the movie. Of course it is hard to read a legendary story such as “Jungle Book” and not see what a powerful effect nature and its’ animals can have over humans.
Many poets are inspired by the impressive persona that exists in nature to influence their style of poetry. The awesome power of nature can bring about thought and provoke certain feelings the poet has towards the natural surroundings.