Nature is a Teacher
All Things Have a Purpose
Nature protects and nurtures its diverse creatures with a profound sense of intelligence that we are just beginning to appreciate. Branches that are stripped of foliage during winter are encased in ice for added protection.
Nature can teach us many things, although being open to the things we have yet to understand is its vital lesson.
"There is a thing confusedly formed."
The ancient Tao te Ching describes life as "a thing confusedly formed. Go up to it and you will not see its head; follow behind and you will not see its tail." We see this interconnectivity in plant reproduction that is orchestrated through seeds that attach to the fur of passing animals. The pollen grains necessary for plant fertilization are transferred on the legs of tiny insects. The delicate construction of arbor seeds harness the wind for regeneration.
Animals trade carbon dioxide for oxygen, while plants exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. All species thrive because of their interdependence upon each other. Each can exist independently and yet, at some level all things are intertwined.
This all or nothing equation
ensures harmony at all levels of life.
Carnivores eat herbivores, eliminating nutrient rich waste that nourishes the plants. Bacteria process waste to enrich plants that nourish the herbivores. Flowing rivers are stripped of nutrients as they pass through the roots of plants before entering the pristine reefs that nourish the sea creatures. We ward off viruses, bacteria and disease by ingesting the exoskeletons of coral animals and sea creatures.
No matter where we look in the chain of sustenance,
we see how life is fundamentally intertwined.
At the same time, we witness mating collisions, eruptions, and positive and negative forces colliding to turn the wheels of evolution. At the molecular level and in opposing pressure systems, we see how nature releases stagnation through a type of friction. Evolution is how life achieves renewal by removing the protective covering of the past. In the same way, all that appears to block our forward progress is meant to lift us to a higher level of being.
We discover our deeper connection to what unfolds around us when immersed within nature's rejuvenating tapestry of colors and sounds. While the natural world reminds us of the things that remain constant over time, it also teaches us to remain open to the unknown.
Nature is the ultimate teacher
of how to overcome all obstacles.
Nature is blind to barriers, except in the way that it overcomes them. Observing it’s diverse processes, we discover the same evolutionary mechanisms also lead us in our growth.
Exploring the best of what it might become, nature fine tunes existing traits, while eliminating what is outworn and unnecessary. More importantly, it is relentless in its ability to overcome any barriers to its forward progress. Over and above how nature renews our senses, the Tao of Nature teaches us about balance, wellness and how success is a pathway of self completion.
Like the seedling that uses dirt and rocks to peel away its protective covering, all obstacles simply remove what blocks our forward progress.
(>>Tao of Nature)
