Nature

When I first read the poem State of The Planet by Robert Hass, I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand it at all.  So much so that I did more skimming that in depth reading because I had no idea what it was talking about.  Reading it as a class and going over it as a whole really helped me a lot, though I don’t fully understand it still.  After going through the images on the power point, the poem came alive and I can see it now as a very vivid story.

I liked going over the “nature poems” of scripture in class.  I thought it was a little silly because they are taken out of context for the sake of looking like a nature poem, but I nonetheless see where it plays in.  I see these scriptures as a reminder that we are to adore God’s creation.  I think this appreciation comes differently for different people.  For me, I love being outside in cool air around fall time, maybe in the mountains.  There I find a sort of essence of God, not that that is the only place God can be, but that is where I am most apt to soak in the beauty he has displayed around us.  It is where I can sit in silence and become hungry for God, like in the line of Hass’ poem “she’s one of those who’s only hungry metaphorically.” 

I think the reason we don’t see nature as something amazing is because we are used to it.  Something that we see everyday usually loses its flair.  But then when we see parts of nature such as waterfalls and colorful tropical forests, we are astounded by the wonderful creation of it.  I think it is important for us to see and experience new things often.  It serves as a reminder of how marvelous and big our God really is.