Mother Nature
Mother Nature Is Speaking
Starring Joan Chen as Sky | Penelope Cruz as Water | Harrison Ford as Ocean | Liam Neeson as Ice | Edward Norton as Soil | Lupita Nyong’o as Flower | Lee Pace as Mountain | Robert Redford as Redwood | Julia Roberts as Mother Nature | Ian Somerhalder as Coral Reef | Reese Whiterspoon as Home | Shailene Woodley as Forest
“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”
– Gary Snyder
Greek Mythology
The first Greek god was actually the goddess Gaia, or Mother Earth, who created herself out of primordial chaos. From her fertile womb all life sprang, and unto Mother Earth all living things must return after their allotted span of life is over. As Mother Nature, Gaia personifies the entire ecosystem of planet Earth.
Mother Nature is always working to achieve and maintain harmony, wholeness and balance within the environment. Mother Nature heals, nurtures and supports all life on this planet and ultimately all life and health depend on it. Mother Nature heals all ills in time and the way of Gaia is the passive, feminine, Yin way of healing. All we need to do to regain our health is to return to the bosom of Mother Nature and live in accordance with its laws. The Gaia archetype underlies all notions of the nature cure and Gaia, as Mother Nature, is a healing goddess.
She Creates & Destroys
Father Nature?
Above, we learned about the Greek mythology as a reason why Mother Nature still today probably is considered female. Yes, mothers share their body, give their own nourishment to nourish others and provide shelter within their own body as does Earth. But what about Father Nature? Let’s suggest we change the term Mother Nature to Father Nature to perhaps bring respect and salvation needed for Earth. If we change nature’s gender to male, would we see the world differently? Perhaps Father Nature can possibly bring the discipline needed for it’s bratty, entitled, ungrateful inhabitants.
The term father is typically associated with characteristics like strictness, toughness, dominate, powerful, rugged, and leadership. The typical role fathers take on are to be stern and discipline the children among several other tasks. The father’s body differs greatly from a mothers’ body. He is strong, tough, tall, rough skin and not the kind of body that would give life but would protect life. As men tend to respect other men, especially father figures, could Father Nature make us feel safe again? Would a simple title change bring forth a whole new perspective of The Earth?
We will never know but nature should be stripped of a single gender. There is no right or wrong gender and no single gender will save the world.
Let’s think of nature as possibly a Hermaphrodite with the ability to prove the harmony and unity between sexes as well as their combined strengths. There is a dire need to step outside the traditional thinking and see thing for what they really are. Life isn’t just black and white, good vs. evil, and male vs. female. Nature has hermaphrodite animals, insect, plants and humans. There’s no need to limit everything into two categories.
Greek Mythology (again)
In Greek mythology, Hermaphroditus was the son of Aphrodite and Hermes. He was born a remarkably handsome boy with whom the naiad (a type of female spirit or nymph) Salmacis fell in love and prayed to be united forever. In fact, her attempted rape of Hermaphroditus places her as the only nymph rapist in the Greek mythological canon. A god, in answer to her prayer, merged their two forms into one and transformed them into an androgynous form. Hermaphroditus’ name is compounded of his parents’ names, Hermes and Aphrodite and is the basis for the word Hermaphrodite -> Not to be confused with Intersex.
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
– Vincent van Gogh