Nature, the Gentlest Mother

Storms and hurricanes ravage coasts, wildfires destroy miles of land, earthquakes and volcanoes threaten communities and the lives of those within them, and deadly viruses run rampant without warning. So often our view of nature is that of a destructive and threatening force.

Nature's power and seeming unpredictability can be terrifying but, perhaps more often than not, she also aids us in our journey. She can often be seen as a gentle spirit welcoming us into her arms, nurturing us with space for rest and reflection, and offering to help us unload our burdens.

There are times that Nature appears to us in such a state of absolute perfection that it seems as if she is adorning herself for our benefit. Every spring we are greeted with the sweet scents of colorful flowers and a chorus of birds flying about their daily tasks. We walk out into her presence and she is patiently waiting with a gift to brighten our days.

Emerson recounts the beauty of Nature at the opening of his essay dedicated to her: [1]

There are days which occur in this climate, at almost any season of the year, wherein the world reaches its perfection; when the air, the heavenly bodies and the earth, make a harmony, as if nature would indulge her offspring. . .

Nothing satisfies like nature. You can exhaust everything that man has built up but only nature will truly "bring out from their torpid recesses, the affinities of a man or women with the open air, the trees, fields, the changes of seasons — the sun by day and the stars of heaven by night."[2]

Nature can bring us back to who we truly are. Like a gentle mother, she nurtures each of us without judgment. All are equal to her and none of society's labels apply. She beckons us to her care and each day brings us to peaceful rest as Emily Dickinson captures beautifully in her poem "Nature, the Gentlest Mother:"

Nature — the Gentlest Mother is,
Impatient of no Child —
The feeblest — or the waywardest —
Her Admonition mild —

In Forest — and the Hill —
By Traveller — be heard —
Restraining Rampant Squirrel —
Or too impetuous Bird —

How fair Her Conversation —
A Summer Afternoon —
Her Household — Her Assembly —
And when the Sun go down —

Her Voice among the Aisles
Incite the timid prayer
Of the minutest Cricket —
The most unworthy Flower —

When all the Children sleep —
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light Her lamps —
Then bending from the Sky —

With infinite Affection —
And infiniter Care —
Her Golden finger on Her lip —
Wills Silence — Everywhere —