WRITING PROMPT CHALLENGE
Do You Love Nature?
It depends on how much I know her
If someone asked me whether I love nature, I would say, yes, of course. But one day when I walked with a friend in downtown Vancouver, I started to question myself.
It was in fall. The streets were covered with fallen leaves. When a gust of wind blew, the leaves rose with the wind and fluttered in the air.
My friend who has lived in Canada for over twenty years immediately exclaimed with pride, “See, this is nature in Canada!”
At this moment, the spotless streets of the small German town where I had lived came into my mind. Perhaps they were too clean, unnaturally?
Hmm, but I love clean streets.
I also love the neat lawn in Stanley Park and the gorgeous gardens in Elizabeth Park. Both are man-made masterpieces.
Then how about nature?
On a sunny afternoon, we drove to Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver, we came for the Suspension Bridge.
A couple was taking pictures on the suspension bridge, so others who wanted to go on the bridge waited in line, and one of them led a big dog. After the couple finished, we cautiously stepped onto the bridge.
It is a real suspension bridge. Even though only one person walked on it, it was already a bit flickering. When more people came, the bridge started to sway from the left to the right side. No wonder, that the big dog got scared and refused to move forward.
A little thrilling, but we had fun.
Except for this artificial suspension bridge, most of the rest of the park is a natural growth forest, which makes it a paradise for people who love hiking.
After crossing the bridge, we walked along the hiking trail for about 10 minutes, then we heard the sound of water. A river appeared in front of our eyes. The water was clear and cold.
It must be very nice in summer to sit on the stones to take a rest and have something to eat. But in winter it would feel chilly to do so.
There are lots of trees along the way. They grow naturally. Some broken logs were lying in the forest, covered with moss.
Between the trees lie huge white stones. Where did they come from? Could here have been the river bed?
On the trail, occasionally we encountered a few tourists, most of the time we walked alone.
Sunlight entered the forest through the dense trees, which had lost their heat. The air was fresh and cold. Silence all around, and occasionally we heard some kind of sound in the forest, but not like a bird call.
I started to get nervous, worrying about encountering bears, and it would be worse if we got lost.
Suddenly, a woman in red walked past us, like a fire, which encouraged me and made me feel better. We walked through the forest, finally, we saw a map with a sign telling us that we were not far from the entrance to the park.
When we sat in the car, my mind calmed down, but I couldn’t help think of the warning sign I glanced at on the hiking road.
It reminded tourists to be extremely careful, never go into the water without authorization, or leave the reserve! Because here is a very dangerous place, It has claimed many lives.
Felt like having experienced a kind of adventure. To be honest, I prefer Stanley park and Elizabeth park — the man-made masterpieces.
It wasn’t the first time that I visited a natural park, and it was not the first time either that I felt this way. But I’ve never faced my feeling.
So am I still insisting that I love nature?
When I was very young, my teacher told us a story in the class.
There was a young man in ancient China, Lord Ye. He liked dragons very much. He drew many dragons in his house. The house became a world of dragons.
A real dragon heard of Lord Ye and was deeply moved. He wanted to visit Lord Ye and made a friend with him.
“Hi, Mr. Ye! Nice to meet you,” the real dragon came to visit, but Mr. Ye run away as fast he could.
“Oh, my God! Help! Help!” he run and screamed.
What Lord Ye really loved were his imaginary dragons, and what I love is my imaginary nature. We don’t really know the things that we love, so when we face them, we got scared.
Farther, it is true that that distance produces beauty.
When I admire the beautiful natural landscape in pictures and on TV, I am deeply attracted, but in fact, a lot of beauty comes from artificial retouching, which can be done with high technology today.
Nature is not only beautiful, but it can also be dangerous, and you need to know and understand her before you fall in love with her.
Thank you for reading. What do you think about nature? Have you been scared by nature? I am looking forward to reading your thoughts in the comments.
I’m thankful for this prompt by Ellie Jacobson in Flint and Steel.
Before you go, I would like you to read the following story by Trista Signe Ainsworth. She told us how she has drawn strength from nature to face a bad day.
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