"So I was just standing there. I tried to follow each single bee, observe its journey to the beehive and back to the blossoms, from one blossom to the next one and back again. But I permanently lost sight of them. There were too many, and you could not understand their motions. That is why I cast my eyes on the whole, the beehive and all the life surrounding it, all the life it protected." (Cz. Milosz, The Issa Valley)
Which natural phenomena are important for you? What do they create in you?
Hermann Hausmann - 21.02.2019 @ 21:56
Feeling of happiness, peace and balance
by Weronka Chudzik, VIII LO Kraków/ Poland
Interaction with nature is natural human necessity, which compensates the absence of order and harmony. It triggers the best in humans and fills them up with new energy. Nowadays, when technology and computer dominate, people forget that they are an integral part of nature and that they need it.
A walk in the forest, birds’ singing, smelling wet ground after rain, the sound of trees and creeks trigger the feeling of happiness, peace and balance. For a moment man forgets about his problems, obligations and this „rush” of the 21st century, which accompanies us every day. All these things help to hush, become free and feel happy. In my opinion, humans need interaction with nature like the water they drink, or the food they eat. Without this, they lose their humanity and became slowly like „machines”, which repeat the same activities.
In Czesław Miłosz’ s book, „The Issa Valey”, the main character, Thomas, is fascinated with the beauty of nature. He is so enchanted with it that he’s trying to catch it in time by drying plants or making an atlas of birds. Woody hills, lakes, wetlands, marshlands, animals and plants' world- all these described by the author with enormous precision, take the readers to a way different world and teach them to notice the beauty of nature.
Dear reader, when you finish reading my short thoughts, get up and go outside. Go for a walk in the park, forest or maybe in a garden. Take off your shoes and feel wet grass or dry sand on a beach. Dip your hands in a creek, listen to birds singing or just clasp a tree and you’ll feel what I want tell you. Good luck!
Picture by Weronika Chudzik
Hello Weronika,
your article was beautiful! I agree with you in all points. Being in nature is essential to a human life because it is one of our natural desires to be outside, where our ancestors lived a very long time ago.
The book you mentioned sounded very interesting, I might pick it up one day. When it comes to nature descriptions, my favourite book is "Life of Pi" . I love the way Yann Martel (the author) describes all those little moments like a sunrise.
"Nature can put up a thrilling show. The stage is vast, the lighting is dramatic, the extras are innumerable and the budget for special effects is absolutely unlimited." (Yann Martel; "Life of Pi" )
Anja Leitner - 01.04.2019 @ 19:53
Hello Weronika and Anja!
I agree on what you are saying in the article. To be close to nature is relaxing and calming. I live in the countryside and have always played with my sisters in the forest around our house. I love to take a walk on the small roads that lead deep into the forests. There you can only hear the sounds of nature and maybe a plane or two.
My favourite things about nature are both the silence in the forests and thunder. I don´t know why but thunder has always made me happy. The more the better! I love to see big lightnings light up dark nights and to feel my body shake to the loud sound of thunder.
Nathalie Färm - 10.05.2019 @ 12:18
Hi Weronika!
I enjoyed reading your article a lot. You are writing about something that not everybody is aware of. Most people have already forgotten about the beauty of nature and what it means to human beings. I live in a province in Austria called Tyrol. The mountains, the forests and the lakes are incredible there. Unfortunately, some people don't appreciate all of them and don't realize they're living in such a paradise!
There's a qoute I really like. It's from the book "The Dharma Bums", written by Jeck Kerouac. He says: “Happy. Just in my swim shorts, barefooted, wild-haired, in the red fire dark, singing, swigging wine, spitting, jumping, running — that's the way to live. All alone and free in the soft sands of the beach by the sigh of the sea out there..." The author describes the feeling of happiness while he is on the beach and claims that this is the way to live. I agree on what he says and wish more people can esteem our great planet!
Julia Mahfud - 14.05.2019 @ 21:18
Dear Weronika,
I really enjoyed your writing about nature. You are right when you speak about how we turn into machine-like creatures if we lose connection with nature. My friends and I spend a lot of time in nature. This is the place where we can feel calm and relaxed after all the stress of school. We find that nature fills us with energy that we badly need.
I personally think that we humans are in danger. It is so because we do not spend enough time in nature and we are losing the connection with everything that is natural. As for me the highlight of my day is when we go for a walk with my dog in the nearby forest. Let's hope that everybody finds such natural remedies which will fill them with gratitude and humbleness.
Csillag Nagy - 02.06.2019 @ 22:04
I agree with you, Weronika! Man is a part of nature, and it's everything we need to live. There has always been this dependence - humans care about nature, nature cares about humans. The Polish poet J.Kochanowski writes about this in one of his works:
"From this care lives human fairly,
Without any usury"
And he describes humans' happiness about living in the countryside, close to nature and worships it:
"Sweet, quiet countryside,
Whoever can describe your pride, [...]
Happy is his effort,
And safe is his gain."
Recently people have forgotten about the role of nature, and lots of us try to make our own environment, while destroying natural habitat. Fortunately more and more people see the problem and help to fix it. I think that our generation is a big hope for natural environment.
Maciej Czuba - 16.06.2019 @ 21:57
Hey Weronka!
We really enjoyed your article about how we as humans are slowly losing our ability to grasp the beauty of nature and how it's affecting us in a negative way. As we both live close to nature we see how much it helps us both physically and mentally to relax and just slow everything down.
Since we both grew up with nature surrounding us we can't really see a future without due to its having such a big impact and being a big part of our lives. Your article really depicts those thoughts and we think more people should read it and really try to understand the hidden meaning and importance of it.
Isidor Fröström - 03.10.2019 @ 13:41