If the classroom is where we learn to read and write, then would it be wrong to suggest that the outdoors would be where we discover relationships and co-dependency.
Is not our Earth one big relationship - with everything dependent on the existence of the other. Even the air we breathe is part of a relationship with other gases and natural cycles. For us to assume we live above this would be foolish and dare I say, arrogant. I have always had a great fascination with the natural world and its interconnectedness. The web of Life.
I think we have come along way in learning to be better stewards of our home, and yet concurrently there still seems so much more to learn about how we can better live in relationship with our home. We have the intelligence to manage resources, yet are held to ransom by basic animal greed. An example, the oil industry. Brilliant steps have been put forward to extract this resource, only to be weighed down by short cuts. And short cuts are generally never a good idea. Especially when it involves our well being and that of other life forms.
Still we move on ever determined to be better at what we do - for good and for not so good purposes. The world pays for this. Water and food are not infinite, and growing human numbers need to realise this. Of every organism on this earth, only the human one has not yet learnt to manage itself. Quite embarrassing really considering we are higher animals. In our search to conquer we have forgotten the most basic of strategies. The future needs. Surely we have the intelligence to step above such base short-sightedness.
I find by observing the interactions in nature, the processes for self-regulation are clear. In times of plenty, populations of animals or insects reflect this, in times of hardship, every organism shifts to reduce its impact on the immediate environment in order to ensure its basic survival.
Nature is one constant lesson in self-management. Since mankind learnt to plant crops 12,000 years ago we have enjoyed a more sedentary lifestyle. Why should we have to now move around looking for food when we can grow it or farm it. Indeed, a marvelous thing we as a species have realised. But did we really consider its impact? I think only now, 12 000 years later are we beginning to realise this. And only because we have been forced to.
We are a stubborn bunch! But nonetheless, an industrious lot. I believe we will move forward and establish a balance. And through spending more time learning from the relationships all around us, we can learn to establish a relationship with our approach to managing the resources which sustain us. It only a matter of motivation and realising our relationship with every other organism.
Patrick from [http://Safarichatter.com]
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