Wisdom of Nature ( M.L.)

Nature is magnificent not only for her vastness of time and space, but also for the infinite wisdom reflected from the vivid biosphere. Here we may look at the resilience of the reeds, the way a poplar disperse its seeds, and the symbiotic relationship between a goby fish and a shrimp.

When I was young, I often sat on the bank of a river and watched the reeds bend under the pressure from the wind and then return gracefully to their original position after the wind had died down. Thousands of robust trees have been blown down by gales, but the delicate reeds remain unscathed. It is resilience makes all the difference. When used in reference to a person the word resilience can mean the ability to recover from shock, depression and any other situation that stretches the limits of a person’s emotions. But we can apply the survival skill of the reeds to ourselves when we are near the breaking point. The skill is, do not be too stubborn or let the ordeal get the better of you, bend temperately and return gracefully.

The dispersal of seeds of poplars has never failed to put me in reverence for nature. At the time when summer succeeds spring every year, there are white “clouds” floating everywhere in my hometown. They are actually numerous minute seeds of poplars surrounded by tufts of long, soft, white hairs which aid wind dispersal. Just think, one such cloud contains millions of seeds, one poplar disperse millions of such clouds, how many seeds does a poplar disperse every year? But how many of these seeds will actually grow into poplars? We cannot stay aloof and indifferent to the fabulous investment of life. Here nature is impressing on us a lesson: Most seeds will never grow, but if you really want something to happen, you had better try more than once. Once aware of this, we may be less likely to complain about our unpaid efforts. By understanding the law of seeds, we do not feel very disappointed by the fact that we may attend twenty interviews to find a good job or that we may interview forty people to find one good employee.

I also marvel at the mutual symbiotic relationship between a goby fish and a shrimp. In the wondrous undersea world, a shrimp dig a burrow and shares it with a goby fish. Since shrimps are nearly blind, they are vulnerable to predators. So the goby fish informs the shrimp by tapping it when danger emerges. Other types of symbiotic relationships exit widely in nature, and symbiosis plays an important part in the process of co-evolution. By benefiting each other, they find a way to survive in the challenging world. Coming back to us humans, if all the leaders had frames of minds of mutual benefits, perhaps many problems and conflicts would be easier to settle.

I am reverent for nature, and I will continue with the lessons of nature’s wisdom.