Marie Steinheiser: A Continuous Harmony #1

"Thomas Merton wrote that the "new consciousness which isolates man in his own knowing mind and separates him from the world around him (which he does not know as it is in itself but only as it is in his mind) makes wisdom impossible because it severs the communion between subject and object, man and nature, upon which wisdom depends."" Berry brings up the disconnect of nature and man kind, due to the view points many humans have about nature. The hardship of "roughing it" in the wild is what draws people to the conclusion that nature is nothing more than trees and animals roaming wild. The love for nature has disappeared and been replaced with technology and modern ways. It is nearly impossible for a human that has these ideas of the wild to understand and appreciate it for its resources and landscape. If we are shut off from seeing nature in a respectful manner, we cannot possible see it for what it truly is. There is a relationship between nature that man has overstepped. We have taken over the wilderness and replaced it with our mass production of real estate. While nature is there to aid us in our survival, it is not there to be torn apart and rid of all it has to give.