Opening up to Nature

By Avraham Friedman

On my most recent vacation, traveling in the 1000 Islands region of
Ontario Canada, I was struck by the fact that I was standing in a boat
and simply staring out at the different islands as we passed them. I
wondered – what am i staring at ? Why am i staring? What is drawing me
to continue staring?

Though I asked the question, and became aware of what I was doing I
continued to look at the incredible view before me – trees covering
hundreds of islands, sunshine sparkling in the clean water of the
river.

My mind was a blank as I tried to understand this phenomenon trying to
not force a meaning on to it artificially.

The thought that kept coming back to me was the word ‘opportunity’. So
much can be done to harness nature to our needs. It’s all right out
there for us to just start doing. There’s much to look forward to. On the one
hand the moment you touch nature, its beauty is ruined. – On the other
hand as we use it, we appreciate what it has to offer and we see its
beauty even more clearly.

I wonder now if we were to look at ourselves like that – as a land of
opportunity: What can we still do with the gifts that we have, with the
beautiful parts of us which are still – untapped sources of energy?

Alternatively do we decide to ‘save’ our energy for some distant time? Just as a
boat truly fulfills its purpose when we use it in water, so too our own
energies are there to be tapped and used for our own good and
advancement.