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Sunday Sayings -Nature

Forestwood

Inspired by Marie’s post about the restorative effect of nature, and Peggy’s post referring to an article, in the Guardian, about nature being loved to death in some National Park areas of the world, I found these wise words:

lizard
Bearded Dragon at Coolangatta Beach, Australia

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature,

he finds it attached to the rest of the world “

– John Muir

Planet earth is large, yet the systems we depend on, and everything within, is connected in some way – through the water we drink, the air we breathe, or the soil in which we grow our food.

Rainforest

“The proper use of science is not to conquer nature, but to live in it”

– Barry Commoner

Damage to one area can have an unanticipated implication for another system. That might be beneficial, or it might be detrimental. It might help in the short term, but be harmful to diversity long term. The ecosystems are complex, mostly resilient, but also sometimes very fragile.

Weekly Proverb

“When someone points at the moon, don’t look at the finger.”

– Ancient Buddhist proverb

Worth remembering is the sageful advice of the Ancient Buddhist proverb, written at a time when the environmental concerns we face today, could never have been contemplated. Yet the words seem just as applicable today.

Sunday Sayings

I find there to be profound wisdom in proverbs, sayings and quotes and I marvel at the way they are so succinct in communicating messages to the reader.

Mostly anonymous, they come to us from past generations and from across cultures. They speak of the experiences of lives lived and lessons learned.

Normally I would invite your comment and discussion on the various interpretations and intentions, of the weekly sayings and proverbs.

This week, I am inspired by Manja, and appreciate any comments or opinions you feel moved to offer, of your own volition.

As always, everyone’s opinion is important and should be respected.

Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

18 thoughts on “Sunday Sayings -Nature”

    1. In more ways than one, are we one of them, Cindy. Unfortunately it is not everyone’s view of the world and they see man as the dominating all, almost omnipotent force who can subdue the natural world. It is that attitude that I feel the quotes rally against.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. I think, in a nutshell you have hit upon the biggest problem that faces us all. The earlier cultures, the Maoris in New Zealand, the North American Indians, the aborigines, they believed that you didn’t take more from the world than the world could give. That we did not own the world, but rather we are the guardians of it. We live in a new era where greed and the ultimate lust for power means the planet is being treated as a pool of resource to be used and abused. Those who are aware, and there are many such people, do not have a strong enough voice yet to fight the system that is slowly destroying all those gifts we have been given. It makes my cry inside to see what man is doing to this beautiful place. ‘It’s only business’, the biggest lie of man.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. You have a really clear understanding of history and its environmental impacts. Unfortunately, this subject is often full of gloom and doom, than positive moves forward. I haven’t heard the business mantra that you mentioned, but I do hear the, “Its progress,” excuse for permanently changing natural habitats in favor of development. Without the natural world there is no world and definitely no nature. It is sad and regretful but awareness and education are key to changing these opinions to those that focus on co existence with the natural world, rather than domination and destruction. In the meantime there is much we can do in our own little micrcosm.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Exactly, we can change our own ways of doing things, and help those around us. I understand what you mean about the business Mantra, Progress is quite often mistaken for the word profit.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Ah, thank you for linking to me. At first I thought you were inspired by my blog generally but then I saw that you mean the last part of every post on my blog in which I say that I shall not ask readers questions in the end to spur them into commenting. 🙂 This is something that I often find very annoying about several blogs but I also obey! So I leave answers just because I was asked. It feels weird! I have never felt that about your blog. You start actual discussions, like the one about luck a couple of posts back. I felt inspired by it today in return. 🙂

    But I’d love this post in any case. All the quotes are poignant and I share the sentiment.

    I don’t know if you’ve got record temperatures there too, I heard it’s 42 degrees C in Australia somewhere. Greetings from balmy winter. Have some flamingos in my last post.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Manja, I reallly should thank you for making me think from another perspective, in terms of addressing the blogger community with questions but it is good to hear that you haven’t ever felt badgered. I am happy to hear that you like the post and the discussion questions. It is a real compliment for me to know that you get what I mean!
      As for the temperatures, even though I live in the hot humid north, it is strangely enough the southern half of Australia that is breaking records with temperatures. It is their dry season and doesn’t bode well if there is a fire. Up here it is usually our wet season although we haven’t seen rain since October 2018!! It is still hot but hot and humid. Down south it is hot and dry.
      Thanks for the wishes from a balmy winter. Winter is my favourite season, balmy or cold. I will happily take the flamingos!! LOol

      Liked by 1 person

  7. “When someone points at the moon, don’t look at the finger.”– Ancient Buddhist proverb
    I’m thinking this means we are missing the point entirely or not seeing the bigger picture of life. Interesting quote.
    “The proper use of science is not to conquer nature, but to live in it”– Barry Commoner One day science will fully realize that nature is what we are all about. You can study it and analyze it but we are it as well. There is no separation as the the quote by John Muir states so clearly.
    “When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world “– John Muir
    We are all interconnected. When we do harm to nature, we harm ourselves. I liked the comment by Firehorse. He seems to get it and I agree. We don’t need an enemy. We will undo ourselves unless more wake up.

    Liked by 2 people

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