"To make one pound of honey, workers in a hive fly 55,000 miles and tap two million flowers."
- "The Buzz About Bees" - PBS Nova Series
Last Wednesday, I visited Brand Park Library and art center. The weather was cold and windy and I kept an eye on the overcast sky which threatened to pour rain. I am exploring the local area hoping to find a lookout point with decent views of downtown Los Angeles. After a short hike up the hillside, I did find something to look at - nothing spectacular, but interesting and while I was there I observed bees. Apparently, they were from a hive inside a tree down the hillside. Watching them work was more enjoyable that anything I'd done in a long time.
Their energy and simple beauty reaffirmed my belief in the rightness of the natural world. I observed no conflict or stress. In fact, I felt a great deal of peace while watching them work. They are models of survival - no complaining, wondering, deciding, worrying, judging. The birds, bees, insects, animals, and plants live or die and don't seem to attach anything glorious or sinister to this existence. *sigh* There I go again, seeing nature through the lens of human emotion.
I have gained a greater appreciation for nature worshippers or pagans. They see that the natural world is a model of organized chaos, resiliance, renewal and life and strive to be worthy of this life. Modern man devises complicated theories, philosophies, and religions to justify domination of nature and holds up the "intelligence" of humankind as the reason to disconnect from nature.
The New Thought, New Age, and ecology movements seem to be a drop of sanity in this conflict with nature. Movements of any kind, though, try to explain, diminish and complicate life's survival mechanisms. Modern humans are so disconnected from nature, that the specter of massive bee die-offs is barely a blip on the survival radar. The radar is jammed with anti-survival issues such as wars, politics, money, gratuitous sex, status, and smirkage.
A simple stroll in the local park, a vacation at the seashore, a hike up a hillside, a run along a country road, any contact with nature instantly re-establishes that link. Turning off the television, Ipod, internet, and car engine as often as humanly possible, keeps the link strong. More nature, more often will make me a happier, healthier person and allow me to learn from the real teachers in our lives, the weather, birds, bees, insects and trees.
