How Much Love Do You Really Have For Nature?

na·ture lov·er

noun

— a person who enjoys spending time in the countryside and observing wild animals and plants.

Perhaps, by any chance, you have already came across with this term. It could be that you have seen from your friends’ status, or, it could be a term that describes YOU. Accordingly, a nature—lover is a term that pertains to a person who enjoys spending time in the countryside and observing wild animals and plants. This could be your friends, friends of friends, maybe one of your family members, me, you or each and everyone of us. We can't refute the fact that the majority finds peace blending and interacting with nature, of course, who would not be, right?

Just yesterday, I and my family took a quick visit to a popular tourist spot here in our place. It is among the destinations I mentioned in my article entitled, “Here’s Why You Should Visit the Municipality of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur, Philippines”, and it is no other than the most visited Langan Falls/Mini Falls in our barangay.

It was not my first time of being there, in fact, I frequently visit there when I was a kid since it is not that far. During that time, there were only three (3) that you will behold: the clear and pristine river, tall trees that provide shade below, and the clean surroundings. This time, however, as I took my first step inside the area, I saw before my very eyes how things became very different from how it used to be. Plenty of tourists were visiting the place. Plenty of stalls and stores surrounded the river. And, one thing that captured my attention and broke my heart, was the scattered trashes left out by the tourists.

And just recently, I saw a status in Facebook from a concerned citizen regarding to her sentiments towards the irresponsible tourists who recklessly left their trashes after their stay. Most of these wastes are plastic wrappers from junk foods.

I suddenly thought of the same experience I had yesterday in my own place, which urged me to raise awareness about proper waste disposal in this platform. I came up with a question which is supposedly for those people who lack of knowledge about proper waste disposal, yet, later on, it turns out that this issue is all about each and everyone of us. Whether you are a nature-lover or not, how much love do you really have for nature?

Is your love for nature only meant for fun?

When I say love to nature for fun, it is all about what you can get from it without giving back what you have taken. It is given that, we interact to nature because we want to relax, while providing a stimulating atmosphere for our senses. We also long for adventure through exploring outdoors that gets us ready to make our positive impact on the world. However, if this kind of fun means forsaking your care and love for the environment, then your love for nature is only meant for fun.

Is your love for nature only meant for clout-chasing?

When I say love to nature for clout-chasing or chasing clout, I mean someone chasing power or popularity on social media through saying that he/she is a nature-lover. Wanting for popularity across social media is no new at all to us anymore. Some people use the nature to create a good impact to their viewers, thus, gaining popularity. While I see no wrong in this when they also take good care of the environment, this action will become a wrongdoing when they forsake the nature by not disposing the wastes properly. In simpler terms, if this clout-chasing using nature means forsaking your care and love for the environment, then your love for nature is only meant for chasing clout.

Is your love for nature meant for its welfare while enjoying it's beauty?

When I say love for nature for its welfare while enjoying it's beauty, I mean remembering and doing your responsibility to take good care of it, after you receive the benefits from it. There are still people who are mindful of their wastes in, for example, in rivers and beaches, and I salute them. This the real love that we must give to nature.

Final and Closing Thoughts

In life, there are two kinds of love: genuine and fake love. Genuine love enables us to do things without condition, while, a fake one is an opposition. Similarly, having real love towards nature should enable us to take good care it, with or without condition. These conditions I am pertaining to are the fun and the fame I mentioned above. It should be remembered always that these 2 things are the usual benefit we can get from nature, and, there's nothing wrong with that. However, one thing that I wanna repeat and give reiteration is how those things should be done by still remembering the responsibility towards us. By doing such thing, we can be called a genuine nature—lover, where we can respond to the question, “how much love you really have from nature”, through having love which is great enough that exceeds beyond conditions.

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Hi everyone! Thanks for reading my article. I hope you have a good day. Stay safe and see you around.

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER!