Sneaking up on Nature

Neville Case

I love to tippy toe in the wilderness and spy on nature. Ina way, it is like going back home. The first half of my life was spent in a remote, isolated part of Guyana. Before my present exiled to the concrete jungle of a city, I blended in well with my desolate, rural birthplace and was at one with nature. As a child, I spent many alone moments in silent daydreaming. As an adult, my mind often drifts-- as I physically do-- from the city to some remote countryside. On a recent escapade to Wildwood, near Chip Lake, Alberta, I sat on the portico of my cousins cabin and allowed my mind to drift. As I looked ahead of me, my gaze went hoppity skipping across a freshly mowed field, in front of the cabin, down through a clearing in the woods, and skimmed across the surface of the lake beyond. The narrow lake allowed me to see the forest on the other side. There was a welcome stillness in the air. All was quiet; that is, except for the birds. I heard the distant chirps and the occasional close one. I gradually tuned out the chirpings and I ventured inwards to a place deep within my soul. The stillness deepened more, yet I could hear imaginary sounds. The lake was

joking with the woods. The woods and the field were arranging a date. The bales of hay were angry with the field from which they were mowed. Amongst all the chatter, it was the surface of the lake that was the most entertaining. The still water skilfully transposed the vibrations of the refracted rays of the morning sun, and made music that enchanted the forest, the shaven field and the browning bales of hay. For a moment, the music changed to a requiem for a fallen bird and some rotting tadpoles that didnt make it. There was a contrast to the pathos, however. Beautiful butterflies gossiped as they gracefully showed off their colourful costumes. A hungry rabbit said grace as he quietly gnashing the stumps of grass left behind. I was determined not to let the visual stimuli disturb my daydreaming. Suddenly, a mosquito interrupted my serenity by buzzing at my left ear. Startled, I woke up from my meditative state and thought to myself. I hear you mosquito. Your annoying war chant is too close to my ear. I naively yelled at it, Im brushing you away and you continue to attack me. I want to bite you and suck your blood. It intimidated me. Go away. Ill swat you.

Just you try, it tauntingly continued to threaten me. Go away. Ill get you, I angrily swiped at it and missed. I got up and darted into the cabin. Several minutes later, I braved it and ventured back onto the portico. I sat down and soon drifted back into a meditative state. My trance deepened quicker than the first time, and I was soothed by an inner refreshing peace. Once more, I began to eavesdrop on the activities among the elements of nature. I heard the lake again. She was the loudest. I heard the woods. I heard the field. I heard the bales of hay. I heard wild flowers. I heard the insects, which included thousands of grasshoppers. I heard the wind, the faint clouds, and the blue sky. At times, I enjoyed their breaking into harmonious melodies. At times, I struggled to make sense of their cacophony of discordance. I heard deep, low tones, middle frequencies, and shrieking high notes. Sometimes the syncopation of the timpani was easy to follow. At other times the beat was asynchronous and discordant. With a trembling voice, the forest timidly told the lake a story about a dream he had the night before. In his dream, a pack of ravenous wolves brought down a deer. The night was dark and fearsome. The gnawing and gnashing were
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hideous and gruesome. The leaves on some of the trees curled up with fear while others drooped downwards. I was scared by the dream and began to tremble. I shifted my gaze to some wild flowers. A gentle swirling breeze was fanning them into a gracefully dance, and they enjoyed showing off their flamboyant petals. They were performing a poorly choreographed ballet to Tchaikovskys dance of the sugar plum fairy. For a brief moment, the gentle rumble of distant thunder augmented their accompaniment and I was enraptured by the lively participation of all nature. As I emerged from my trance, I paused to examine my emotional state and the state of my mind. Such inner peace! Such a revelation! The meditative moment had transported me from the treadmill of my consumer community in the city to the beauty of a pristine wilderness and beyond. I emerged from my daydream with a new awareness that the elements of nature enjoy a vibrant, dynamic social life far beyond human uderstanding. I have no language for translating or interpreting the revelation.