Because It Is Beautiful

The scientist does not study nature because it is useful: He studies it because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful.

Jules Henri Poincare

It is never my intent to alienate my readers by choosing sides in the political struggles and polarization that are happening today. There is enough of that going around. But individuals on both sides of the chasm that separates us agree that these are dangerous times, and our very survival as a species may by threatened, perhaps the very planet.

One has only to pick up one’s phone and scroll through the posts on social media to find warnings of imminent danger. The news is filled with reports of various disasters that are being attributed to climate change. Books and podcasts can be found that describe an ocean filled with plastics, air pollution increasing the risk of asthma and other respiratory diseases, plants and animals disappearing from their natural habitats, people disappearing from their natural habitats. We are instead retreating to our phones and other hiding places, which merely accentuate the dangers we are facing.

There are lots of good reasons for caring about wildfires, floods, endangered species, respiratory disease, to name just a few. There are still lots of good reasons to care about the trails and the wild places that can be found there. Some argue that increasing the number of visitors to our trails and parks leads to more people caring about those places and therefore taking action to preserve them. I have long wondered if there is any truth to this idea, but as my readers know I have always objected to what I perceive to be overwhelming crowding on our nation’s trails.

Preserving fresh air, clean rivers, wildlife habitat, an ocean free of plastic and other harmful pollutants, a climate that will not destroy us. . .all of these things are noble reasons to take action for the preservation of a healthy planet. But I have another reason. How about this? Because it is beautiful.

It seems that we are genetically programmed in some manner to be drawn to beauty. We turn our heads and look when a beautiful smile greets us. We experience awe when standing on a mountain top and taking in the vista. We place a bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table, breathe in with gratitude the salty air of the ocean and the sounds of its surf pounding the shore. All of these things and many more bring us healing, and we need this more than ever.

This is why I return to the mountain trails year after year, why I still carry a pack simply so that I can sit on a log and sip my cup of tea, gazing out over a meadow of wildflowers. This is why I keep houseplants that bloom and add color to my home in the winter time. This is why I live in a mountainous rural location despite the inconveniences. This is why cities place parks among the crowded office buildings and streets, why apartment dwellers grow geraniums in pots on their small balconies, why ancient civilizations built cathedrals to celebrate and worship, why some etched drawings on desert varnish. This is, in fact, why I get up in the morning. . .because the world is a beautiful place, and for that reason alone it is worth preserving. Something beautiful remains to be seen, listened to, and savored today. I don’t want to miss any of it.