Despite the technological advances and scientific inventions that make us believe

we have nothing in common with the rest of the animal kingdom, we are still part of
the planet’s fauna, whether we realize it or not. Needless to say, back when
humanity’s main achievements were the invention of a round wheel, or specific tools
for farming agriculture, human beings were dependent on nature and paid attention
to the changes of its course. Now, with technological revolutions and discoveries that
made up our past history, we seem to pay little attention to nature, getting more and
more disconnected from it every day. However, the links we have with nature
cannot disappear. There are a number of key reasons in favor of the concept that
people should try to connect with nature more than they do today.

Nature has historically been the home for human beings, just like it remains a
home for animals and plants (with the exception of those that are kept in zoos and
greenhouses). Nature is able to show us true beauty without modifications,
exaggerations, and falseness. After all, is it not ironic how people go to galleries and
exhibitions to look at paintings of colorful flowers, mighty woods, green hills, and
fast clear streams; those simple beauties can easily be observed in real life outside of
the urban environment which looms around them? Or the fact people purchase
recordings of calming sounds of nature, like what you would hear at night in the
woods—a damped quavering of an owl, a ringing flare of crickets, and the sonorous
rustle of bushes. What we are in fact doing is trying to deceive our minds and make
ourselves believe we are in the woods, next to those owls, crickets, and bushes, while
we are instead trapped inside our tiny, well-furnished, and packed-with-technology
apartment.

In the era of absolute informational chaos and noise, it becomes more important
than ever to be able to pause from the crazy pace of life and relax. Finding silence
and peace in the global vacuum of competitiveness, haste, and strain is challenging.
We go to doctors for depression, insomnia, and anxiety. We ask for prescriptions and
pills, while what we should be doing instead is turning to nature for help. What can
 be more relaxing and stress-free than a cup of warm herbal tea with fresh honey on
the porch of a cozy wooden country house with a view of a small natural lake, or
green forest, or beautiful mountains? It is the cheapest, simplest, and most accessible
treatment one can think of. We laugh at those “freaks” hugging trees in the park, or
walking barefoot on grass. However, these people remember what is essential—what
most others have forgotten somewhere along the race to progress and prosperity: the
key to being healthy, emotionally sustained and resistant to everyday stress is
staying connected to nature and allowing ourselves to put all business on hold and
take a break.

Nature is about balance and harmony—what we lack when we live inside the
swirling pit of urbanized cities. Sometimes we escape, but so rarely and so abruptly,
that such escapades can hardly help us reestablish our link with nature. Individuals
who live in city areas should consider changing their routine and getting out into
nature more regularly. When was the last time you took a walk to a nearby pond, or
spent a weekend outdoors doing active sports? When was the last time you went
hiking, or fishing, or took your family or friends for a picnic in the nearby park? We
should try to move our weekly entertainment, as well as our holiday celebrations,
parties, and friendly gatherings, from homes, pubs, and restaurants to lake shores,
mountains, parks, forests, ponds, rivers, and groves. The beautiful landscapes of the
Philippines are incredibly rich and diverse, and this is our true natural wealth we
unfortunately often forget about.

We humans have come a long way. We have truly been able to harness, and in
many cases, override, nature in many ways. We built airplanes and helicopters and
learned to fly. We have learned to extract energy from the wind, the sun, and even
ancient dead things to power our homes and cars and other modern amenities. It would
indeed seem that we have the ultimate hold over nature. But this misconception is
overturned every time we are faced with the wrathful power of nature, in the form of
natural disasters.
 Never in the history of the world have we been able to truly tackle any natural
disaster. We have learned to how to live through it, to shield ourselves against the
worst, and to rebuild our lives after it has passed. We have learned to predict when a
tornado or a hurricane will pass over us, and we can predict, to a certain extent, when a
volcano will erupt. We still are caught completely by surprise when an earthquake, a
landslide, or a tsunami occurs. We have, however, learned how to build buildings and
other structures that are better suited to tackling earthquakes. We put up shelters when
a hurricane approaches so that we can stow ourselves away to safety while the
hurricane passes over.

But even today, the best that we can do is to brace ourselves against the worst
that can happen. There is nothing that we can do to stop these natural disasters from
happening. But being able to protect and rebuild ourselves is also no mean feat, and this
calls for great infrastructure. The well developed nations face no less damage when
struck by an earthquake or a tornado than a poor nation, but they are better equipped to
handle the consequences. In undeveloped countries like India and Bangladesh, the
government is happy to issue alerts and asking people to evacuate in the face of an
oncoming storm. You would be hard put to find any state-erected shelter, and aid s also
not easy to come by, either before or after the disaster strikes.

Yet, a natural disaster is a true test of the underlying unity and humanity of all
humans. When a disaster strikes, all nations across the world come forward in aid,
irrespective of the status of their diplomatic relationships. People who have somehow
escaped the disasters, or have emerged not too worse for wear, come forward to help
their less fortunate neighbors, even at personal loss. All humanity comes together to
lend a hand to every human and animal, with rescue operations being undertaken by
the government and the National Government Offices of people and animals alike.

It is not going to be possible for us to avert natural disasters, but we can certainly
do our bit to mitigate their effect on us. And that is not just by improving disaster
management infrastructure. The recent rise in global warming has considerably altered
the climate, leading to more and more hurricanes, cold and heat waves, and freak
storms. We can certainly do our bit to control such drastic changes and make the world
a safer place to live in.