Natural and Unnatural


Sandhill cranes migrate here to winter in a man-made lake called the Whitewater Draw. Some 20,000 of them take flight at sunrise and sunset, filling the air with innumerable formations and their mesmerizing chatter (the info posting calls it a “gurgling trill”). It’s an amazing wonder of nature! For me, being there at these times is like going to church. This day being Sunday, we were moved to go again this morning for this ritual, making this our fourth visit in the almost two weeks since we’ve been here. Hallelujah!

Watching and listening to the cranes moving in tandem with each other stirs in me not only an awe for Mother Nature, but also a brooding about human nature. Right here in this same terrain, we so severely restrict human migration and think of ourselves as different from each other. We from this side of the border see “the other” coming from the south as virtually a different species, not entitled to live where we live. We don’t want to share the land and waters with each other as the birds do.

Being in the midst of the crane spectacle also reminds me of how small we humans are in the scheme of things. And how apart from nature we have positioned ourselves, at least those of us of white European descent. How ironic and tragic that the dominant white supremacy mindset we are living under ignores the essential truth that we are not supreme at all, just one aspect of the miraculous creation on this planet.

Coming back from this morning’s commune with nature, we passed several law enforcement vehicles: the sheriff, the highway patrol, the border patrol. It reminded me of how at war we are with our own god-given nature, how unnatural we have become.



Comments

  1. S&D27 January 2020 at 06:28

    K&M, been reading and admiring these posts, well written and poignant, this last juxtaposition of nature's beauty and border patrol so vivid....who are we?
    be safe....looking forward to your return....we'll get together for some music and stories....S&D

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