The Winning Authority of Nature

It has been with more than a mild amount of amusement that I have observed politicians, and academics (both with and without scientific credentials), pontificate over whether Nature has ultimate authority over our lives. Surely government and… ahem… science experts are in charge.

Specifically, the political posturing, behavior mandates, and other interventions that give some the sense that humankind has a commanding control over the natural world.

We do not.

When not trying to bluff one another, our egos are always hopeful that we are fully in charge of the universe. Even in the face of evidence that we are not, we hold onto hope that we expect will become truth.

Humans are funny that way.

Point of View

I will readily fess up to my heretical views. I received them during my medical education and later private practice experiences. It was during my education that I developed a sense of awe about the natural world. Anyone who has studied Nature, in its many manifestations, can often come away with a deeply rooted sense of humility. Striking a balance between the mechanical/chemical components of living organisms (the science) and the awesomeness of an inclusive system of life that knows only itself, is where my journeys have taken me.

While perhaps a little out of step with some of the orthodoxy in power these days, my ideas about an authority of nature arise from study of observable parts of the world, the observations and theories of generations of scientists, and from my own limited scope of experience in comparison.

Are my conclusions the only correct ones?

Gosh, I hope not.

This would not resemble anything scientific if we were not able to challenge ideas with evidence.

Belief in the Authority of Nature

Some observations. Your mileage (perspective) may vary.

• Disorder is present in nature, but order is readily evident. At least as far as human perceptions extend. We like order and sameness. There is enough of that around to keep our perceptions happy.
• Nature nurtures but still holds all accountable. There was an old television commercial with the tagline, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature”. Whenever we tinker with natural organisms, we open a door on consequences for that intrusion. Man-made adjustments to a cold virus can result in a worldwide pandemic. Consequences, intended or otherwise, are always a factor.
• Growth. Biology is cell growth. Such growth can be everything from reproduction to cancer. Humans can guide these processes, but we are not ultimately responsible for them.
• Purpose driven. Science continues to discover intention in natural processes (i.e., fire as a part of normal landscape life cycle). Humans just keep disagreeing with the nature of these processes.
• Unhurried progress is a hallmark. Government could learn a lot from this.

Lessons from Nature

Getting in tune with human disagreements with nature can take practice. I think it is our own nature to think of ourselves as being in charge because nothing else speaks up using our languages. Unfortunately, we miss that Nature speaks to us using its own language.

A few ideas:

• Nature does not deny us our ability to learn from mistakes. It will also provide repeatable results from trying the same solution multiple times.
• Nature works problems to find solutions, not solutions looking for problems to solve.
• Indifference to human wants is the rule.
• Humility rules. Humans are subject to natural occurrences, not the other way around.
• If you want to admit it, there is a sense of humor present in nature. It allows us to achieve desired local effects… temporarily. Think of sandcastles on the beach or ancient temples now reduced to a collection of rocks. See Humility rules.
• Fairness exists only in the mind of the beholder. Nature is indifferent. Diseases exist for reasons (usually an organism fighting to survive).

Let go of trying to steer the universe and listen to the authority of Nature (instructions) that are available.

Moreover, no amount of pretending otherwise, or catastrophizing natural occurrences, changes Nature around us.

Nature just is.

“A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
― Albert Einstein