The importance of nature

We are very fortunate to be able to live close to nature. People in the Minonk area can see the farmers scurrying about the fields in a mad dash to get the crops in between rains. The same for the gardeners who want to get the onions and potatoes in during a dry spell and then hope for rain to make them grow.

While people in other parts of the country may enjoy year-round warm weather and sunshine, I have no regrets for staying in the good old midwest. I remember reading somewhere that living in a climate where there are four distinct seasons gives tempo to one's life. We mark our lives by annual rituals. The rites of spring is one of those rituals, just like raking leaves in the fall or wishing for a snowfall on Christmas Eve.

Years ago I was in New York City on business and happened to strike up a conversation with a New Yorker in a restaurant. The person asked where I was from and I replied Illinois. He said, "How do you keep from going nuts living in the middle of nowhere?" I wanted to ask him how he kept from going nuts with the traffic, the noise, the congestion, and the pollution of New York. Needless to say, our opinions are usually formed by our background and upbringing.

I believe that anyone who is born and raised in an environment that is close to nature never loses that longing to be close to nature. I sometimes wonder if that is why the Middle East is such a crazy place. People there live in a monotonous desert and must endure a hardscrabble existence. Maybe that is why the Muslims are so zealous in their religion. Religion must fill the void that nature would normally fill. I have a theory that there is a direct correlation between the harshness of the environment and the need for religion.

Young people often become consumed by their need to get an education, start a career, and raise a family. Often times, they do not realize the joy of communing with nature until they become older and more leisure time is available. One hundred years ago, most people lived off the land and raised their own food with gardens and orchards. Everyone was exposed to nature by necessity. Today, most people are city dwellers and do not have the opportunity to become exposed to nature like our forefathers.

I think it might be wise to include in our educational curriculum courses on nature. This could include classes on gardening, landscaping, flowers, planting trees. Take trips to botannical gardens or arboretums to expose our youth to the different types of plants and trees. I know that some of this is taught in biology but I think it is necessary to give students a practical education in nature. Teach them how to grow a garden or plant a tree like our forefathers did many years ago.

Instill in our students a love of nature so that they can enjoy the benefits of communing with nature for the rest of their life. Not everyone will be lucky like me and discover the joys of nature by accident. I honestly feel that being introduced to nature filled a void and a yearning that changed my life.

Sunday afternoon I sat on my front porch admiring the flowers that Judy and I had planted in the front yard. I watched two wrens flit about the branches in the pin oak tree. A turtle dove was perched on the new fence corner we just recently installed. The flowers on the tulip tree were just starting to open up. Schotzi the dog was playing with YumYum the cat on the lawn. I thought to myself. "It doesn't get any better than this."