There is a comforting sadness in experiencing one’s life alone, secluded from the incessant chirping of a mother’s voice, desperate agony of a school day too soon to come, disappointment of a world in which the voices of people, most humbled and well-intentioned, are drowned out by the reckless abandon of a select few. What a world we live in that one may witness the majesty of a pack of killer whales gliding so stunningly, so peaceably through the ocean waters, the selfless acts of people ecstatically caring for one another, the intricate, affectionate bond we share with the animals and plants of this world, the unmistakable beauty therein each and every one of our hearts and souls…and, yet, we may take little action in ceasing the unrestrained slaughter of these animals, beacons for the magnificence of nature, may become filled with needless vitriol towards one another, may see little need or urgency in preserving our environment, may reject the beauty in having a kind and loving heart. However desperate one may feel about the constraint of this sometimes saddening world we are citizens to, one need only look outside to the world beyond our bustling cities and tedious daily lives to be reassured about our roles in this universe and the hope we should preserve in creating the lives we wish to live.

The sky spanned my vision, entirely different than I had last remembered it, the stars having joyfully shed the vast cloak that often shrouded them when I’d look out of my bedroom window on a dreary school night. Unhindered, they glistened and sparkled almost in flawless succession, overpowering almost, as if to welcome me back wholeheartedly, a relentless attempt to get me out of the spunk I often fell into after an arduous week of school and work before returning to my father’s house in Elizabeth. We are not so prone to lifting off the vast cloak, perhaps the reason nature calls to us so emphatically: the blissful whistle of the birds as they awaken each morning, gentle hand of the breeze on our back as it guides us on our journeys. The infinite expanse of stars and space, of course, was awe-inspiring in itself. That I was composed of the very particles that made up such powerful beasts of nuclear fusion and life, of the same particles that made up the very dirt, minerals, and verdant grass that I sat upon, of the same particles all life known on this Earth share…it’s such a sincere, touching connection, one that leaves with you a sense of acceptance and purpose unequivocal to any found simply with friendship and family. The entire world is made of you, for you. Insignificant in size, yes, but we are remarkably significant nonetheless. And perhaps in that moment, my kindred relationship was so strong I actually felt as if the earth under me and I had joined in perfect union. The grass and soil had uprooted, scooped me up in its grasp to shield me from the blistering cold, and received me back as one of its own, relinquishing me of my worries and doubts. If I could be even one of the tiniest gears in the machine that is this universe, I could be hopeful that all of my life, all of what we’ve accomplished as a people would not be all for not.

One of the greatest realizations I’ve made in observing nature, is the major discrepancy it has with humans, a single trait that has long been beneficial for us but also been cause for much treachery in this world. In our tireless, unending pursuit for the answer to “why,” we don’t enjoy allowing nature to take its course, fearful of death until the bitter end, and often lose sight of our own ability to appreciate life for what it is and we, ourselves, can make it, whereas nature simply exists, an unending cycle of life and death, of growth and reproduction, of almost incomprehensible forces at work. Its beauty is in its complex simplicity. And it is of the utmost importance that we continue to remind ourselves of the intrinsic relationship we have with nature, remember to shed the vast cloak.