Finding Our Place, by Andrew Brenner

As I marched through my usual routine of climbing a monstrous hill in order to get to my beloved tree stump, I spotted 3 white tail deer. Upon being discovered, the mother took action instantaneously, nervously catching up to her two children. She continued ahead, instructing her young to follow behind closely, guiding them to safety. But one stayed put. Looking back, we locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity. I am not sure if it was out of fear or curiosity, but he seemed to be captivated by my presence. He then eventually hurried off, into the tree line, to join his family

 

Soon after, I found myself sitting upon my dear stump. With the soothing sound of flowing water in my ear, it was honestly difficult to keep myself from dozing off after such a journey. But I soon came to my senses and began keenly observing and listening to my surroundings. There was a plethora of plant life covering my back, nearly wrapping me up. This gives me a welcoming feeling.

 

There is a whole variety of life surrounding me at the moment. From the squirrels racing across the broken logs of trees carrying their gathered nuts, to the birds hovering overhead looking for their next catch. I see that there are many hunts and journeys being played out everywhere I look. It’s quite intriguing to think how all beings have their own individual narrative, however we are all a part of the same story. It is as if we all have our own line of thread and we are stringing together a wondrous quilt.

 

In the foreword of A Sand County Almanac, Aldo Leopold proceeds to state: “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” This quote really hit home for me. The key word being COMMUNITY. We are but a small wave in a vast cosmic ocean. However, as a species this wave has begun to grow tremendously, and if we continue as we have, we will soon hit land. This impact will be devastating. Not only will this beautiful planet be spoiled, but our wave too will ultimately come crashing down.

 

 

I have been thinking a lot about the idea of harmony in individuals. Particularly how each cell in the human body carries out its individual function. These cells continuously come and go, performing their assigned duties in order to keep you, as a whole, sustained. Unfortunately, once in a while, there may come a time when a cancerous cell begins to grow and multiply much too rapidly. The cell expands with no regard for anything around it. Its vision is too short sighted to see that this route will surely bring about its own demise. Of course along with it, the destruction of the entire organism.

 

The human race is this cancer. We have attempted many treatments, but all seem to fall short. We must act swiftly if we are to catch it in time. More often than not, assumptions are made that someone with a novel idea will come along in the future and fix our problem at hand. But what we are facing ought to be dealt with today. What we need is a major paradigm shift. We must find our place in nature for the betterment of the planet, and ourselves.

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