a dreamer's notes

“We’re going to grandma’s garden today.” Every time I hear these words, I get so excited as a little kid because it means I get to play outdoor, and even just for a glimpse, I get to know what does it feel like to be in the wilderness. Now as a teenager, the feelings are still the same, however, I realized that nature isn’t just about the landscapes and the greens, there are things we can learn from nature.

From the east side of my grandma’s yard, there lay the woods which my cousins and I used to play and in the afternoon we would sit on the big rocks and wait for other folks to bring their cows home after feeding them in the wild. In this woods, there are so many plants and trees like bamboos, mango trees, guava trees, coconut trees and other kinds. They stand still, strong and tall as ever before.

There is one time that I get so fascinated of one particular plant: the coconut tree. Every part of that plant can reflect us humans on how we should behave: the seed of that tree can grow everywhere, it can adapt to any environment whether it’s wet, dry or freezing, as should humans be as adaptable as the coconut tree. That plant grows only straight upward, so high it looks like it wants to reach the sky, just as how we should dream our dreams—high and determined. We should also learn to be as useful just like every part of coconut tree can support the lives of people, the trunk, the leaves, and even every part of the fruit can be useful.

Also, I learned a good value of nature that you just have to accept yourself for who you are. The bamboos don’t get jealous of the mango trees because it can provide shades and grow fruits for humans, the cows don’t look at the horses and wish they could run as fast. Embrace your own beauty because that’s what makes you unique.

Yet again, with all the diversity all these plants and animals have, what do they have in common? They are the natural agents that are helping the world to be a better place. Plants provide oxygens for humans to breathe, yet humans come to the forest cut down trees irresponsibly for the sake of money. Animals complete the food chain yet irresponsible human beings come hunting down the animals to exploit them also for the sake of individual pleasure without knowing what’s the consequence.

I think humans as the children of nature need to make the world a better place too, we should look at nature from different perspectives because nature seems to have no alternative to bliss. Look at ants, you may honor their work ethic, but they’re not getting up at the crack of dawn, pushing the snooze button, and forcing themselves to go look for crumbs. To them, scouring the earth for a drop of honey is the most blissful thing imaginable.

It is only humans that have separated life into compartments of good/bad or wanted/unwanted. When you get in touch with your true nature, nothing is outside the state of bliss.

Take a look at the stars, for example, stars bring beauty and light in the darkness. Instead of succumbing to the darkness of the world, be one of the radiant stars that shines their bright inner light. As we inspire others to be stars, we can light up the night sky with our intentional beams of starlight.

The only conclusion is that everything is dependent on all that exists. If you look back far enough, you will have to conclude that a stalk of rice in Indonesia is somehow dependent on a sparrow in South Africa. Nothing can be separated from anything else.

Everything you see, and many things you don’t see, are working together to help you thrive. It would be incorrect to think that nature is comprised of many trillions of different living organisms. The reality is, each of those forms is just different angles of the one thing – Nature.