Trinity College School - Record Yearbook (Port Hope, Ontario Canada)

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Man and Nature Francis Bacon once said “He that follows na- ture is never out of his way, Nature is sometimes subdued, but seldom extinguished.” Contact with nature is important to most people, yet our present age until recently, has seen the concen- tration of people in the relatively sterile environ- ments of the cities. There people become disori- ented towards nature; and oriented towards mechanization; thus the second half of Bacon’s statement, becomes less and less valid for our times, simply because nature is overwhelmed by the much more rapidly evolving technology. I think that if the technological expansion con- tinues in the same direction, at the current ex- ponential rate, man may result in being largely psychotic, measured by today’s standards. But there are current trends in the opposite direction also, although some of these are on the verge of irrationality. For example, one group of dis- orientated young people is trying to revert to the stone a°ge. I think that everyone has a need for nature a sometime, and many do satisfy themselves with driving through the rural areas or a short walk Personally, I consider a leisurely stroll in au tumn forests to be very satisfying. As one walk through a brightly patterned carpet of freshh fallen leaves, as other leaves waft down in a cris autumn breeze, one can easily achieve a sense of solitude and communion with oneself. I find a foggy day the most enjoyable, for it i then very easy to achieve a sense of being with nature and your inner self yet being alone. Thu fog makes me my own little island. If I am walk ing, there is also a somewhat dreamlike quality to the walk, for I can perceive only what is rela j tively close and only if I care to remember it what is behind, or what is ahead. It is this feel ing of isolation, although there is the reassuring knowledge that one is ont truly alone, that I find very conducive to introspection. I think that if one has a need to examine th ) essentials in one’s life, and he cannot do so be cause of external pressures, it can only be detri mental to his existence. In my opinion, if one truly tries to come inti contact with nature, one can only benefit one self and one’s soul. At least for me, it is very eas to feel how very transitory life is, when one con siders that any larger tree may easily be mor than two hundred years old, and one feels ever more so when one realizes that even a tree is very transitory thing in nature. Reflections upon myself and the world comes easily then. In our present society, the opportunities for some solitude in nature are becoming more and more limited. I think that without contact with nature, or a least a proper chance for man to re ceive a true perspective of himself, he will be come less and less able to reverse the current desecration of nature, and thereby the destruc tion of himself. Art — 12

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ly no forget him. How much he affected my life, I do not know. One thing that I owe him that is present- mgible is my open-mindedness towards religion. I am not a believer in any particular religion, but te h e I ( estion atheism as I feel that it is extremely shallow in scope. I can see great virtue in religion. I no loi er believe that to believe in a typecast religion confines your paths of thought and narrows your at ity to perceive. It may even expand one’s sentient capabilities. is flaws also taught me a great deal. His reluctance to communicate with others taught rhe that at- pts at communication could only benefit you. He had the perfect defense for any pitfall that he may e stumbled into — his faith. I now believe that total dependence on faith as defense is not good. The eriences of pitfalls, though they may be unpleasant, will strengthen, and make more resilient, your cl racter. I still picture myself floating free in an abyss. 1 believe that 1 know why. I have no faith. I have no faith in anything. Without faith to provide some secure bond with the world I will con- tinue to float free. This is bv far the most important thing that I learned from my roommate, though it has not been until now, as I write this, that I realize it . '

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Oksana For thou I find a love, for which I cannot display. It breeds in gardened hills, for which I find ascending; no way, But the trees shall part for unanswered love, requested And I disguising ambitions of love within releasing energies of ascending shall exceed the capabilities of ascent. In contrasting metre and streaming words: The birds still flutter towards our destiny, And by their pattern And by their grace Unanswered love, answered in time, will find its place. In metaphor, the birds still fly and hover, over guarded gardened hills . . Waiting to rest upon the time of conquest When I in love . . . will answer. For now I say bye But please birds, fly.