The Rock Garden

Nature

THE ROCK GARDEN

Our Conversations to this point have been with people. Even gods are people, kinda sorta. The Earth, or Nature, is a similar experience to conversing with a god. It is not a two way conversation, although some say, at least for them, it actaually is. For me, I am not sure if we should congratulate them on a successful endeavor, or watch them very closely in the future. The Earth does not speak with us directly, but she certainly has a multitude of answers for us. But she prefers to show us her answers through nature itself. Like god, there is revelation in nature. It can be spiritual, and often is scientific and verifiable, but it is wondrous none the less. It is always there for us to see, if we are receptive to it and actually looking for it.

Everyone needs a place to lose themselves for a time, touching the earth, and hopefully drawing a connection with the essence of life. We need to experience the simple pleasures the earth can supply, as well as revel in the complexities that are required at times to allow life to exist at all. We observe, and we question. We contemplate, and then question once again. It is a continual process. For most life, in general, and even some people, in particular, it can be nothing more than instinct and mindless repetition, but for most of us, it is a journey of discovery and knowledge, learning and growth.

For me, in my little corner of existence, we grow rocks. It didn’t start out that way. It was not the plan. Mother Earth has a very perverted and off-beat sense of humor. You see that small little rock sticking out of the ground over there? You know, right where we want to plant that apple tree? Well, three days later the hole is ready, and there is a 2000 pound rock that now sits next to the tree. Very funny. Ha-ha. Again, not part of my plan. But for whatever reason, part of hers. And so it goes. But we have come to an agreement of sorts. I continue to dig rocks, and she continues to do whatever she wishes, and that invariably means putting a rock exactly where I did not want one. Nature: 893. Me: 0. The only upside is that I now have 893 rocks. I don’t count the thousands of small ones.

NATURE

Man came from the earth, and the need to be in contact with nature is an instinctive drive that cannot be denied. Everything derives from Mother Earth. Life would be impossible without her. If it was not blood that flows through our veins, it would undoubtedly be dirt. Man cannot be whole unless he works the soil, and is able to experience all the joy and wonder that is offered for him to not only watch but to participate as well. The glory and miracle of life. Man. Animal. Vegetable. Mineral. They all have their cycle of life, of existence. They all have their value, and they each have their story. Each one a unique epic that Hollywood can never match. Not in a million years. And the Earth is our eternal connection to that thing we call life.

We all take Nature for granted, to some extent. Some of us have emersed ourselves in the ebb and flow of a natural environment by living in a rural or country setting. Others have been more isolated due to being born within an urban or city environment. And many have chosen their destinations, while some just accept, and persevere. But there is one inescapable fact. Man is unique, both as an animal, and as a being of reason and intellect. He is at the top of the food chain, as it were. At least as a general rule. The mantle of caretaker has been thrust upon him, by default, since there is no other being even remotely capable of understanding the complexities and necessities to a healthy planet and a viable environment. Many have the interminable need to control everything, while some of us believe we are here just to observe, and learn, and do no harm. The debate goes on. But one thing is incontrovertible. Our continued existence is completely dependent on how well we are able to accomplish such a grave responsibility. There will be no one else to do so.

Man is nature. Nature is man. Our futures are one and the same.