Nature: Friend or Enemy?

We all know what natural disasters are and the destruction they can rile up. We have seen pictures and footage of submerged cities, wrecked countrysides, dispossessed people standing shriveled and hopelessly wondering why such bad luck would choose them. Yet, we all glorify mother nature and thank her for the harvests and magic wonders she bestows upon us. It seems that nature is two-faced, perhaps functioning randomly, dishing out blessings and curses without merit. Or, there is a plan to all that befalls us and, maybe, we fail to notice the signs it sends us to warn us.
I have great respect for nature and, since my young days, something has always pulled me to become intimate with the world around me. Presently, I spend a lot of my time out in the woods and by bodies of water- large and small- trying to capture what I can of nature's essence.

My relationship with the animal world is not limited to any particular kind, but I especially love birds. Sakabaka is a Kinyarwanda name for the Black Kite. Since I began photography, I have taken more pictures of birds than any other subject. The two main ones I have photographed are geese and gulls. I also have photographed mammals and fish, and I use my technique to get close to them without scaring them away.
After photographing either the woods or the animals, I whisper a word of thanks to them for allowing me to photograph them, then I thank the creator for creating such beautiful wonders and the opportunity to capture them. Now, I am not animist, what I am is someone who seeks to be more in tune with the natural world in order to understand it more.
In the Bible, it is written that Jesus said to the storm, "peace be still" and it was so. It is also written that he cursed a barren tree and it withered, and that he admonished his followers for not having enough faith because if they did, they would tell the mountains to move and it would be done. Nature is not inanimate, it is alive, breathing and going through the circle of life much as we do. If I take a picture of someone, I thank them afterwards for the opportunity, hence why I do the same for the trees and animals.

As a refugee, whenever someone would give us clothes or food, I would always thank them and then I would thank God for using that person to attend to my needs. Many cultures, before so-called "civilization" moved in, had a culture of thanking slaughtered animals for sustaining them. In return, the people would only slaughter what they needed. It's the way it happens in nature and people are the only animals that kill even when they are dying of gluttony. This greed- and some do refer to it as a deadly sin- has risen with the spread of "civilization" that seeks to make man supreme above all other creatures.
In this process, we have forgotten our relationship with the natural world and focused our energies to enhance our comforts while neglecting the natural language. That's when rain forests are eliminated to dig for shimmering rocks or build cities that will require massive flooding to power them. Many species are eradicated- genocide???- and the outcry of a few are muffled by the indifference of many. When disasters break, we question why the creator would allow such a thing, when all the while we are the ones who have been wielding the ax that chops off our own heads.

So, is nature a friend or an enemy? Animals always seem to know when increment weather is on the way, so it's possible humans can learn to observe them. In the wild, bright colors usually mean "stay away," both in regards to animals and plants. So, why do we continue to blame nature? Maybe it's because we are part of nature and are the ones who have become indifferent to its warnings and the cause of much of its agitation and mayhem. If we are part of nature and we are to blame, then we are the fault of nature and, therefore, nature is to blame for allowing a chink in its own armor. So, go ahead, blame nature for all misfortune that befalls us, but keep in mind that sooner or later, it will find a way to fix itself, whether by eliminating the weakest link or, maybe, by strengthening it. I hope it's the latter.