Nature is quite mysterious. The more we look into it the more we turn dumbfound. One beautiful thing is that nothing in Nature is in a hurry. See how peacefully flowers open, fruits ripen and the plant community chooses colours. No bird has a flight schedule or a defined meals time. In the animal world every being lives on their instinctive stimuli, never manipulating anything with their rational mind. Miserably, when it comes to man, everything changes. His slogan is more things at less time and less space. If there are distinct purposes for everything in this universe, man has only one purpose – maximum profit in every idea – spiritual or corporeal. In Nature, nothing is exchanged for money – everything is free. And for man there is nothing measure free – be it giving or taking.
To be natural means being in peace, removing all price tags, going beyond time/space limitations and living in acceptance of the appropriateness of Nature. When it comes to animal life, animals behave as if they know themselves. If it is a poisonous snake that happens to be in front of us, it won’t run away as those in the other category usually do. Animals generally fight only with those, which they think can be conquered. Lions know that they need to be together and so think big elephants too. The only bird that kites can’t fight are ravens. Ravens sit on their back and squeeze its neck. Kites can’t fight them. Instead, they fly up and up. The higher they are, ravens feel short of oxygen. Naturally they lose their grip and fall off. From bacteria to blue whale, every living organism knows how to respond to varying situations amicably.
Kites are the best examples that teach us how to react to wounds and attacks from behind. Nature is always wise; it has installed in every living thing the necessary wisdom to outlive all challenges. The problem with humans is that we never open this Nature’s treasure chests.
Norman Vincent Peale, noted minister and author, tells the story of a young girl from Sweden spending Christmas in a big, bustling New York city. Using the little money, she had saved, she bought an outfit for a small baby and went out to the corner of the city where poor families lived. Finally, she could reach a family with a baby of her dream size. She knew how to merge in Nature and be it. Empathy was the key she used to break the human barriers of limitations! Always there is a natural way of settling disputes and establishing what one wills.
When emperor Alexander the Great was crossing the Makran Desert on his way to Persia, his army ran out of water. The soldiers were dying of thirst as they advanced under the burning sun.
A couple of Alexander’s lieutenants managed to capture some water from a passing caravan. They brought some to him in a helmet. He asked, “Is there enough for both me and my men?” “Only you, sir,” they replied. Alexander then lifted up the helmet as the soldiers watched. Instead of drinking, he tipped it over and poured the water on the scorched sand. The men let up a great shout of admiration. They, then, knew their general would not allow them to suffer anything he himself was unwilling to undergo.
Today, there are organisations that look into similar emergencies, especially that of people from otherwise abled community. Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), has a special programme called ‘Ready Now’ that offers special training and necessary tool kits.
