Nature herself is a dimension of the gift of God’s love to us, and defines our own humanness. To make of nature an “It” to be used, is to distort the graciousness and beauty contained in the meaning of existence. Hence, nature is to be enjoyed, cherished, reverenced.
There is indeed, irony in the fact that we have to learn all over again how to enjoy those things that children seem to have such a spontaneous relationship with: dirt, grass, cats and dogs. So it seems, that to heal the child within, we must return to the garden
Enjoying nature is not just a weekend activity, or a one week family vacation. It is a way of being and doing that pervades everyday life. Enjoyment, like praise, is one of the most beneficially healing and naturally occurring states. To bring such a state of creative seeing into our home and offices, schools and farms, would indeed change us from users into appreciators. There are economic ways to transform and build societies which flourish with the spirituality of the many different religious traditions, and which can motivate us to practice ethical, and thus happier behavior.
Knowledge alone will not protect nature, nor will ethics, for by themselves they do not arouse motivation strong enough to transform the exploitative patterns to which we have become accustomed. The protection of nature must be rooted in love and delight in religious experience.
