Joseph Cornell - Listening to nature part 1

In preparation of studying Joseph's book I found it important to define my own concept and meaning of nature first.

Nature is all around me, nature gives me love, hope, encouragement, peace of mind. I associate nature as earth, wind, water, fire, trees, birds, plants ..

Earth to me is Mother Earth without whom I would not be able to live and feel the strength to cope with lives' daily chores. It is the soil that is needed to grow the trees and the flowers I love so much. To grow the food that I need to feed.

Wind cleanses, moves the air that we breathe. Have you ever listened to the whispering of the wind or stood outside in the storm. Wind can be soft like a caress.

Water is for cleansing and is the mirror of the skies above us. Gazing into the waters of a still lake brings reflective thoughts, daydreams, lightness, secrecy (what is under the surface). We need water because about 60% our body exists of water which has to be replenished regularly.

Fire is beautiful, is harsh, destroys and leaves behind fertile grounds, is from the bowels of Mother earth, can sometimes be contained but is of a wildness and fierceness that is difficult to match.

Aah .. the trees, the birds and the plants .. what can I say?

A lot of what I feel is laid down in the following song from Pocahontas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDUzwtG3g58&feature=fvwrel"