For over half a century I, Naturalist Jim Conrad, producer of the BackyardNature.Net website, have studied Nature. Nature study and experiences in Nature have given me three simple but profound and powerful insights:

1. In Nature, everything is connected to, and affects, everything else. As people continue destroying the Earth's forests, the oceans' living things, the soil, and natural diversity everywhere, we're attacking the Earth 's natural life-support systems.
2. Humans are highly developed animals as much a part of Nature as everything else. Therefore, remembering that 99.9% of species that ever lived on Earth now are extinct, it's clear that our human species must respect the laws of Nature, or we shall be added to the extinction list.
3. Within Nature, certain patterns show up again and again, and therefore are proven to be sustainable and useful. We humans would be wise to study and harmonize our lives with those patterns.

The third insight gained in importance as I grew older, becoming more practiced at recognizing the patterns. For example, one obvious pattern in Nature is that nothing is wasted. Everything is recycled. That's a teaching for us humans.

Another pattern is best shown by the evolution of Life on Earth, where from one spark of life there arose the rainbow of today's living things. Nature seems to "want" this diversity, and constantly to enhance the interconnectedness of Her diverse creations. Thus we humans should honor and preserve diversity, whether it's expressed in terms of an ecosystem's many species, or -- remembering that humans are part of Nature -- the different kinds of people around us, and their different thoughts and feelings.

Consider these teachings of Nature in the light of the United Nations' free-to-download GEO-6 Environmental Outlook document of 2019. It said, "Our planet is suffering. The climate is warming, species are going extinct, natural resources are being wasted, and many of our ecosystems are under enormous stress."

Humanity worldwide must change its ways of thinking and behaving. Bringing about such changes always has been the responsibility of young people. The old ideas of unsustainable growth, big industry, unrestrained money-making and self-centered consumerism must be replaced by those of sustainable behavior, cooperation, and caring for one another and the Earth. That's exactly what Nature teaches with Her ever-repeating patterns of forest, field and ocean.

We old people are hypnotized by years of too much social programming urging us to consume, consume, consume, so don't expect much help from us. How will you young people find your way if we older ones can't help? I don't know, but with all my heart I can say that if you study Nature and spend a lot of time outdoors, Nature will impart Her wisdom to you.

It's kind of magical the way it happens, but it does. So, just get close to Nature, and She'll let you know what's right. Then do what you think and you feel you should, and you'll be doing OK.

Good luck.

Jim

PS:
If you're curious to know how Nature study and outdoor experiences guided not-so-great, mixed-up, young person me to having these thoughts, you might enjoy peeping into my free online book (no ads) Nature-Study Meditation: Mother Nature as Therapist in Anxious Times