Nature laughs



Nature will have it's way
whether through our neglect
or in it's thwarting of our futile
attempts to tame it
glorying as it does
in it's own abundance
unmindful of consequence
it has the complete abandon
of that which has no conscience
oh such freedom it has

Is good synonymous with natural
that which comes from nature
or is good an outmoded notion
clung to by the overly meek
or those of us whose narrow focus
blinds us to all but the blindingly obvious
even with my dim vision I can see
that the trees adorn themselves
with no thought towards vanity
and are all the more beautiful for it

It can be tempting to think
that underlying nature is no structure
but that is not the case at all
although to describe the systems at play
takes us on a journey of discovery
whose boundaries lie on the outskirts
of knowledge, or in my case far beyond
a lack of understanding however
is not the same as insufficient evidence
it evinces solely my own limitations

What then does nature have to say
on the thorny subject of morality
except that it seems an irrelevance
in the wide sweep of the universe
so can we now ignore it altogether
learn lessons from the vast bulk of creation
or is this to deny something singular to us
for whom morality is more than minutiae
are we thus in danger of thwarting
our own intrinsic nature

It seems that there are times
when hope triumphs over experience
or faith leaps over empirical evidence
but what if this is in fact just nature
interweaving itself with what's already there
to gradually pull us towards
what would be there if only
we were to let go of our preconceptions
about pretty much everything really
nature enjoys a good joke it seems

10 comments:

  1. Jos, this is wonderful writing and I love it.
    Makes me go off on flights of fancy :-). Hugs.
    xoxo

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  2. What would have if we let go of our preconceptions indeed. I think that's where my judging comes from. I decide in advance who is right and who is wrong, who is good and who is bad. I don't wait always to see. I need to learn to wait and see. Thank you for making me think and a beautiful poem.

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  3. Oh I like the ending. Nature is enjoying a good joke this weekend. A spring like week, ending in severe weather warnings. Looks like the sky is going to fall...yet again. However, I have no problem delaying summer. It's just too hot and it makes me cranky :)

    Love you Citrus! Be Orange!

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  4. Jos..o wise one! These are some of your truest words.... one must bow before Nature....something most of today's Scientists and Meteorologists don't seem to comprehend! She will ALWAYS do what she wills....and all we can do is be thankful when it is good for us....and when it is not, do our best to survive!

    Living in the land of perrenial grey skies and biting winds....

    Love,

    ♥ Robin ♥

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  5. to my mind morality is made up by humans to control other humans. sometimes it is useful, sometimes not. nature on the other hand is self-balancing and self-regulating; if things get too far out of line they will fall back into place like a pendulum.

    i love your thought-provoking posts!

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  6. Funny isn't it Joker? That something that feels so inherent is in fact a construst over which we can exercise choice. Sometimes it doesn't feel like there's a choice though. Another example of the rigidity in my thinking I suspect!

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  7. Blogger is eating comments but I am pasting them back so that my responses are seen in context:

    Blogger is eating comments ... so I have cut and paste these from my hotmail as there's very little coherencey in responding to comment that aren't there!

    [From Robin @ http://robin-theviolethour.blogspot.com/]

    Jos..o wise one! These are some of your truest words.... one must bow before Nature....something most of today's Scientists and Meteorologists don't seem to comprehend! She will ALWAYS do what she wills....and all we can do is be thankful when it is good for us....and when it is not, do our best to survive!

    Living in the land of perrenial grey skies and biting winds....

    Love,

    ♥ Robin ♥

    Ah Robin, one of these days you must travel to England in the Spring / early Summer time. It is amazing to see Mother Nature revelling in the way she does at this time of year. .... there are plenty of dank days but they only serve to highlight the contrast with the lovelier ones all the more. Let's hope that some of these blue skies visit you soon! xx Jos

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  8. [from Wine and Words @ http://quietcommotion.blogspot.com/]:

    Oh I like the ending. Nature is enjoying a good joke this weekend. A spring like week, ending in severe weather warnings. Looks like the sky is going to fall...yet again. However, I have no problem delaying summer. It's just too hot and it makes me cranky :)

    Love you Citrus! Be Orange!


    Love you too Annie! I am not good in very hot climes, hence my love of the temperate climes here. I get a bit fed up with the relentless grey skies of autumn/winter though. But Spring is here! Hunker down Annie, hopefully the storms will be brief. xx Jos

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  9. [from Lilith @ http://shadowboxwer.blogspot.com/]:

    What would have if we let go of our preconceptions indeed. I think that's where my judging comes from. I decide in advance who is right and who is wrong, who is good and who is bad. I don't wait always to see. I need to learn to wait and see. Thank you for making me think and a beautiful poem.

    Hi Deb. Thank you! I'm just the same. Too often I jump to a conclusion too quickly and then expend loads of effort justifying myself ... having already made up my mind as to the rights and wrongs. I forget to question first the basis on which I am making these judgements. Duh ... xx Jos

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  10. [from Annie Coe @ http://blissful-bohemian.blogspot.com/] :

    Jos, this is wonderful writing and I love it.
    Makes me go off on flights of fancy :-). Hugs.
    xoxo

    Hiya Annie [[squwooshy hugs back to you]]

    ... do you think it's squwooshy ... or is the w superfluous do you think?

    ... maybe it should be squooshy? skwooshy? scwooshy? schwooshy?

    ... then there's the whole y or ie question.

    T'is difficult this word making up work. Enough silliness for now methinks. Happy Saturday Annie and I hope you are making art and having fun.
    xx Jos

    ReplyDelete