Behind Nature's Own Eyes

"World I Know" - Collective Soul

I feel the need to write tonight. And I have no idea about what. I feel like somethings just on the tip of my tongue begging to come out. So I guess here I will sit, rambling on at eleven o'clock on a Monday evening. Bare with me.

I've started walking in the woods recently. I had forgotten how peaceful and cleansing it is to be surrounded by nothing but nature. I may be able to hear people in the distance on the odd occasion, but for the most part I am completely alone for the entire journey. To be alone with your thoughts is a huge feat in today's world. I sometimes listen to soothing music and reflect. But more often than not, I find myself turning the iPod off (WHATTTTT!!!!???!!!!!) and listening to nature's soundtrack. Birds of all sorts sing and chirp, and frogs from the nearby stream splish and splash. Leaves mysteriously fall to the ground from distant tree tops, and I can hear them as they land. The forest produces music like no other.

I push myself hard for miles, but only because I so look forward to sitting by the stream and taking it all in. Sweat drips down my forehead as I breathe heavily. I sit on a flat rock that stretches out into the water, and I don't think there is a happier place on earth. But today it was especially magnificent. As I sat there resting, I heard twigs faintly snapping. And out from the shadows across the stream came a doe. Is there a more peaceful animal? She obviously didn't know how close she had crept to me, and as soon as she realized I was there her ears perked up and she just stood there staring. I could attribute it to the "deer caught in headlights" analogy, but for some reason it felt like more. She was analyzing me, as if trying to decide if I would hurt her. If only she knew how much I was admiring her, and quite content to do so from a distance and give as much space as she needed. I half expected her to turn and bound away, but she stood there for quite sometime. Eventually she did calmly retreat into the depths of the forest. I never knew a run in with a deer could leave me so speechless. Maybe this meeting is what has been weighing on my mind all evening. The look of potential fear in her eyes that turned to relief has left a permanent mark on me.

How have humans managed to evoke fear in almost every other species? What brought us here, and what can help to take us back?