Nature Haikus

We ignore you so 

With apathy and abuse

We hate you, misuse.

You treat us with care

the kindness we do not share

never ending love

Once worshiped by all

placed high on a pedestal

 but treasured no more

Enjoying nature

These pictures are a few examples of shots I've taken while enjoying nature.

Ignoring The Beauty

This picture is the perfect example of the typical teenager. Instead of watching the amazing sunset reflecting in her glasses, she sits and watches YouTube videos on her phone missing out on the beauty and serenity. If the typical teenager would only take one moment each week to listen to nature and experience her beauty then we would increase our own cultural values for it... In a world of waste we must preserve nature, but if we hold no value to its name then we will not make the effort to preserve it.

(Picture taken by me)

Is Nature Simply A Nuisance?

Nature can be a bother. Whether it be mowing the lawn or a storm that ruins plans, nature can get in the way of our hectic lives, but without it what would life be like? A black-and-white world of stress and anxiety? The first picture below is from my trip to Bogota, Colombia. This huge metropolis is sitting in the middle of beautiful mountains and this scenic view is only a twenty minute drive away, but most locals have no clue it exists because they don't find the time to look up and enjoy the mountain views that they take for granted. The same happens in our daily lives. Living in Peachtree City, we live in one of the greenest cities in the country with nature in every direction, but when was the last time you stopped to enjoy it? On the other hand when was the last time you let nature bother you.. Whether is was a rainstorm that caused a game to be cancelled or a cold winter day that made you sick. Nature can be a bother and we may take it for granted, but we need to value it before we lose it! If not we will be stuck living in our brick-and-concrete, black-and-white world!

(Both pictures taken by me)

Hidden Colors

Nature is full of surprises and hidden gems. Sometimes all it takes is to take a walk on the golf-cart paths or to go for a jog around the lake. Other times its simply to look out the window and watch the sunset as you drive home from practice or to watch the squirrels playing on the deck. Acknowledgement is the first step.. Next comes creativity. Sometimes what you see is what you want to see like figures in the clouds, but that is what makes nature so mysterious. As teenagers we usually disregard nature and worry more about our phones and friends. If we would just "take a breather" every once in a while and enjoy nature then we would have an entire new medium to enjoy and entertain us.

(Picture taken and edited by me)

Nature on Instagram

The era of iPhones and iPads enables teenagers' ability to share information instantly. Sites such as Instagram allow teenagers to edit their pictures and then share them with millions of users worldwide, but why should these pictures be edited? Often teenagers focus on the edit and the likes, but fail to capture the beauty of what is standing right in front of them. Instead of valuing the picture or the nature they obsess over poses and witty comments to capture the attention of another 'like'-hungry user.

(Images found on Instagram. Top left picture on second image was taken by me)

Na[t]ure Quot[e]s that R[e]late to a Tee[n]ager'[s] Life

“The earth has music for those who listen.” 
― George Santayana
Music is the combination of sounds to create a beautiful harmony of sounds. If you absorb all of the different aspects of nature it creates a beautiful, peaceful environment. The beauty of nature is not any one thing, but the combination of a million colors, smells, and sounds.

“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” 
― Winston Churchill
Although the quote does not directly involve nature, it does relate to human nature. As humans we oftentimes avoid a problem or take shortcuts, and in the end we end up hurting only ourselves. Instead, we should fight the problem when it begins and not let the problem beat us.


“We kill all the caterpillars, then complain there are no butterflies.” “We kill all the caterpillars, then complain there are no butterflies.”
― John Marsden
This quote could have many interpretations, but I see it as a reflection on the loss of creativity in grade school. Our parents' generation is forcing us into a black and white world that is drawn out for us before we are old enough to make our own decisions, yet at the same time they complain that our youth lacks creativity and the spontaneity that once lived freely in the young-adult population. 

“I think having land and not ruining it is the most beautiful art that anybody could ever want.” 
― Andy Warhol

This quote has many messages. The main message says to conserve nature and its beauty, but in a less literal meaning Warhol is telling us that knowing what we have is just as important as having it. You can have the most valuable item in the world, but if you do not recognize its value and preserve it then it is worthless. Nature is a beautiful thing, but as Shakespeare once wrote "beauty is bought by judgement of the eye." If we as a whole do not appreciate nature and destroy it then we will lose a beautiful thing, and Warhol is saying that seeing the beauty is just as beautiful as the actual beauty.

"The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.
― Moliere 
Have you ever rushed something great only to ruin the outcome? Maybe it was a relationship or a project that you rushed and then made many mistakes on. In nature, plants grow when they are supposed to grow, bears hibernate when they are supposed to hibernate, and wolves hunt when they are supposed to hunt. Nature does not rush things. Because nature is patient, Moliere tells us to be calm like nature and not rush because many times the best outcome may be the last one. 

"In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer."
― Albert Camus 
By comparing the seasons to good and bad, Camus tells us that even in the worst of problems we can find an answer within. This 'every problem has a solution' mentality tells us that even in our darkest moments we must look for the light within. The metaphor of winter for bad and summer for good is interesting because it gives these seasons connotations that may or may not have already existed. Going back to Shakespeare's earlier statement "beauty is bought by judgement of the eye," the author's attitude toward winter may be creating a problem. If the author had a more positive attitude toward winter, or the problem, then would he need to find the "summer" within him? 

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into the clouds above." 
― Edward Abbey
Yet again another author gives nature a connotation (good and bad) to then compare it to life's daily struggles and rewards. Abbey suggests that it is not the easy choices in life that lead to the most rewarding outcomes as he wishes that one take the hard, challenging path which will in-the-long-run yield better results.

"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere."
― Vincent Van Gogh
I liked this quote a lot because it reminded me of the quote that called it an art to simply recognize nature's beauty. At first the quote seems very straightforward, but it has a lot of hidden meaning. Nature is viewed as very simplistic, so if you learn to love the simple things in life then you will find beauty in anything!

"Don't blow it - good planets are hard to find."
― Quoted By Time Magazine
This quote is very straightforward, but it is the essence of the message that the next generation needs to receive. It is a very powerful quote because it uses humor to make a strong statement - simple but to-the-point. Quotes like this one are the types of quotes that make me start to think critically about life. The emotion that this one short phrase holds is more powerful than a whole list of recycling or eco-friendly product advertisements... the fear of ruining our planet is enough to get the point across in a mere 9 words.

"We never noticed the beauty because we were too busy trying to create it..."
― Anonymous
This quote applied to teenagers more than anyone else. Teenagers we are always focused on superficial beauty and artificial, materialistic greed, but it we were to just 'stop and smell the roses' then we would experience some of the beauty that nature has already given us. Beautiful women try to pile on makeup, amazing views are changed, and amazing voices are auto-tuned... these are only three examples of nature's beauty being masked by our own superficial ignorance. If we realized what we held then we would see the value in nature. Maybe one day this epiphany will become common and a new trend of natural-everything will start. Until then we can only focus on ourselves and attempt to see the beauty that not everyone recognizes.