True Nature

         Under the twilit moon, I can see everything…yet nothing. How blind must the human eye be not to see the details of the trees, the leaves, and the animals? I take a deep breath and smell the pines. But how blunt is a human’s scent that can not pick up the fresh smell of natural water, droppings, and sweat? I hear the rustling of the leaves in the wind – whispering unknown secrets into my ears. But how deaf am I to the purr of a mother panther, to the rippling of the stream and to the flutter of silent wings? I bend down to touch the soil. It feels coarse and wet, after such a long rain. But how unfeeling am I to the pulsing of tiny hearts under the soil, to the tiny rocks and tiny pieces of decaying organic and to the flowing of water that feeds life into every living creature? I pull out a small pack of peppermint from my pocket and taste the minty flavor of its origin. But how dull is my taste when I can not taste the dew collecting on leaves, the leftovers of my last meal and the taste of utter sweetness in life around the air? I know now – human senses are much blunted by years of in-use. I know now – our superb sense of sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste is nothing compared to the extraordinary senses of the animals around us. And so I stand before the moon and stars, staring at its beauty and wondering whether one day, somehow, humans will really see, smell, hear, touch and taste the beauty in true nature.