Morris and I

In just hearing the name, I feel a presence about the area. Not speaking of the souls that may linger about Harriton Cemetery but a person much closer to my heart, my father. His middle name is Morris and he loves the outdoors. He could spend hours just taking in nature and naming trees. He could almost sink into the environment if he sat still for long enough. In honor of him, I decided to try and do the same. Having had a stressful past few weeks, it was nice to simply be and bask in the sunshine I was able to find. The time in between each gust of wind was a peaceful moment of bliss. In response to the student survey's that deemed the woods "far from pristine," I can only question by what are they judging. I remember when we talked about the idea of "pure nature"  at the beginning of the class, on the first day. The question came up of whether there is such a thing as nature without humanity and to what extent it is without fault. With this in mind, I think it is only fair to say that nature does exist outside of human realm and it exist in whatever way it wants. We call grass, grass but what if it goes by another name? Not to say that our idea and perception of th world is insignificant, but we can deem it lacking. We rarely go into the world and ask it of ourselves but form it to our on capacities. Nature, the outdoors and envrionment are all mere ideas that we can impose upon but not control. Yes, we can plant flowers, but they still manage to grow on their own in broad landscapes. A true appreciator of the world around me, I try to find a way to accept the environment as it chooses to present itself to me. Though a Texan, I still find myself joyful when I see the leaves slowly change their color, hear the leaves crackle under my feet and feel the chill of the air entering my lungs.