Hello everyone, 

I’ve been mulling over something recently that I think about quite a bit – our relationship with nature, God, and humanity, and how we sometimes get it a bit twisted. It feels like whenever we, as humans, try to completely take the reins and “manage” every aspect of the natural and human-centered world, we often end up disrupting its delicate balance. It’s almost like we forget that nature has its own intricate systems and a rhythm that’s been perfected over millennia, and when we try to force our own agenda on it, things can go a bit sideways. It also reminds me that people and natural systems are not realistically prioritized over process, laws, rules, regulations, policy, and procedure, leading to a misappropriation of energy toward procedural considerations rather than actual, holistically impactful results. Does the means justify the ends in this case?

This really gets me thinking about how we, with our human-centric viewpoint, often create more problems than we solve, sometimes adding to the planet’s woes with unintended consequences.

It reminds me of a fascinating book I read in college, called “Playing God in Yellowstone.” What made it so captivating was how it delved into the extensive efforts and resources people poured into controlling and maintaining the Yellowstone forest. They had all these policies and management strategies in place, trying to dictate the ecosystem’s condition, but particular species of wildlife suffered. The irony was that all that ‘management’ seemed to overshadow the fundamental truth that, in the end, nature calls the shots. And, as fate would have it, not long after the book was published, the park endured a devastating wildfire that consumed a large portion of it. It was a stark and powerful reminder that sometimes, despite our best intentions, nature has its own way of asserting control and resetting ecological succession.

This is a reminder that balancing nature and humanity should be our context, and we need to work with nature, God, and society rather than playing God.  We are a part of Nature and God, not separate entities.  Consequently, we should be stewards and stakeholders of our natural environment and of humanity, rather than playing God.

Just wanted to share that thought with you!  

Best,

Richard Thomas Simmons