Birds, dolphins and a close encounter with a hammerhead shark ...
http://www.flickr.com/...
If there is any reason at all to love Nature, this is the reason: Nature is beautiful.
Why should any other reason be necessary? I reject the notion that Nature exist for humankind's sake. I reject the profit & progress motives which have propelled humankind to investigate, (poorly) emulate and destroy Nature. I reject the notion that Homo Sapiens are somehow distinct from and/or better than Nature.
I also reject the notion that Nature and the Earth exist for the sake of human conquest just as I reject the notion that humans should (or ever will) conquer space.
So I devote my attention to Nature's beauty and spend my time marvelling at the decision of so many people -- nearly everyone, perhaps everyone (including my own self since I am a product of the sick Western civilization) -- to live at war with Nature, at war with each other, at war with God, at war with their own self.
This is not a healthy sort of life for anyone. Look at this world. Look at all the sad and sorry people. Look at all the suffering, violence and the entertainment which is essentially 24/7 vicarious violence meant to feed the lowest common denominator of a very sick soul.
I reject all of this and choose Nature instead.
I won't draw any distinction between myself and Nature nor will I draw any distinction between myself and any other human. All of these boundaries have outlived their usefulness (actually they never were useful but have always served to justify strife, competition and injustice) and I won't abide them any longer.
If you are an American, good for you. Wave the flag if it makes you feel good. I am a citizen of the world and the Universe and Nature. The United States of America is a very small place, too small a place for a soul such as my own. There are 6.7 billion people on the planet and I am not going to place the greed & gluttony of 300 million people above the health and survival of all the rest ... even if the greed & gluttony serves to make my own life and lifestyle possible.
Peace is the only thing I value. The economy is a sickness, a cancer, and humankind's ultimate existential threat.
Humankind really should live differently but humankind cannot. Who will rescue humankind from human nature?
David Mathews
http://www.flickr.com/...