The nature of nature (02/27/05)

I heard a story on CBC a few weeks ago where they were interviewing a retired fellow who had decided to keep himself busy by running a tourist lodge. The reason he gave for this decision was that he wanted to get out on the land and conquer nature. I didn't hear the rest of the interview, because I was so profoundly struck by his notion that nature could be conquered. Or even that it would be desirable to do so.

Here I sit in the comfort of my little log cabin, gazing out to the frozen lake, the brilliance of the sun as it reflects on the crystals of ice that cling to the twigs of the trees at the shoreline. And if I am lucky, I'll catch a glance of the little red fox as she wanders by. Living here in the midst of the forest, it is easy for me to contemplate nature, and my relationship with it. It is easy for me to see the connection of all living things, and our dependence on nature

for our very survival. I have no desire to conquer that, which sustains me.

Yes, I sit here in the comfort of a warmly heated building to keep myself from freezing to death in the mid-winter cold. And when I go out of my cozy little abode, I cover my body with layers of polypropylene and wool to insulate me from the elements. If I didn't, I could not live here.

But my home does not conquer' anything. It is built of wood and stone, the very elements of nature. It is heated by the sun, and by the gift of heat from trees that gathered sunlight for decades and stored it in their woody trunks. The woodstove was made by Mennonites in southern Ontario, with steel and iron - elements from the Earth.

My home is built into the side of a hill, to take advantage of the natural heat sink that keeps us warmer in winter, and quite cool in summer. Our home protects us from all kinds of weather, but it does not conquer anything. It works with nature, not against it.

Living within the forest, our lives do move at a slower pace. I have time to contemplate the harsh beauties of nature, and I have learned to respect her power.

Egotistical as the retired interviewee may be, he will not conquer nature. None of us ever do. It just isn't possible.

Yes, we can dig things up, cut things down, build with steel and concrete and stone, but nature will always be at our doorstep. And given enough time, all the things we build will return to the Earth. Nature has lots of time.

The bedrock upon which my house is built was formed a few billion years ago. This is a number my mind cannot comprehend. Yet I know that nature has changed the face of this rock time and time again over the eons. And it will continue to do so in the eons to come.

My place, here and now, is to live within nature. And my goal is to do so in cooperation, with love and respect.