Nature is a Lover

"Nature is entirely feminine. Whether you are a man or a woman, whether you are straight or gay, she does not mind. She will seduce you anyway. Nature is shy, and won’t reveal herself fully to you until she knows you come in sacredness; she has been raped by mankind for too long. If you respect her, if you visit her in the early morning when commerce is still asleep, or at night, or if you are willing to travel far into her interior, she will show you her secrets of sensual love.

You cannot have any connection with her through your mind. She never lives there; she cannot. She will sway and breathe and run from concepts. You cannot really know her very deeply through watching or listening to her. That is a kind of voyeurism that she will tolerate, but with disinterest. She might pose pretty for you, offer you a nice vista here and there, but she will be relieve when you drive away again in search of other entertainment.

She will meet you only in the physical. That is her métier. Give her your naked feet, and she will open to you and reveal her gifts. When you see a moist and shadowy mossy place, throw your civilized habits to the winds and lie down on the moss. Touch her with your naked skin. Dive into her cool pools; be warmed by her boulders in the sun. Rub yourself against her bark. Then dance in the secret places of her forest and become One with her.

Nature is a lover. She will bring you home to yourself if you are willing to be washed clean of all that is not her."

from Leap Before You Look by Arjuna Ardagh

Images:

Above: taken at Gandy's Gully where I regularly walk
Below: Lily and me at Telowie Gorge, Flinders Ranges