Life is simpler outside; while comforting, it is, in my opinion, wholly untrue. When describing the world of nature the word ‘simple’ is a far removed from my vocabulary as it can get. I would say it is beautiful, unique, changing, ever present, alive, eclectic, bewildering, the only thing that is simple is that it is simply complex.

The more time I spend outdoors the more I see that every little thing connects. All the processes are very connected and every living or nonliving thing has the power to affect not only the rest of the environment but also us as human beings.

Mother nature did a pretty amazing job when you think of it; she created and manages an amazing world of deeply diverse plants and animals that interconnect in millions of ways. And all we have to do it simply enjoy the complexity.

But we don’t always do just that: “simply enjoy the complexity”. We think that the environment is OURS to take and use, that the complex interconnected ways of nature are OURS to destroy. But it’s not.

Some people may think I’m a good for nothing treehugger (as I have actually been called) but I think the human race is deeply flawed in the ways we treat the environment. It is not in fact OURS but rather we are the environments. The environment was not created for us but that we were created to be stewards for the environment.

Our biggest fault is thinks that first thinking that the problems faced by the environments are not our fault (and as a side effect not our problem to solve) but also that these problems will not affect us. But they will. We think Mother Nature cannot speak so she cannot punish us for our poor stewardship, but one look at the natural disasters around us tells us she definitely can speak, but the real question becomes are we listening?