​No nobler a hill
The sky yet deems to fit a
Feather to its cap

​Bark smoldered and doused
Snowfall upon hollow mound
Rests its shivered crown

​Antlered brow of bone
Each turn, time-telling wisdom 
Spiraled majesty

​Sun yet climbs the sky
Brush of dawn's soft morning glow
Pastel mountainscape

​It's been a year since starting Prismatic Planet and posting my first Human Nature blog.  When I wrote that, I mentioned that I wanted to use this site to learn more about the planet and share that knowledge with you.  I also mentioned that in addition to researching and writing for this website, I was also an active environmental volunteer.  That's still the case today, and I realize I haven't talked much about it here.  Which is kind of odd since one of the best ways I engage with something I want to learn more about is to actively do that thing.  I imagine such is the case for a good number of people out there.

So, I want to take this one-year anniversary of Human Nature to do just that.  I want to share with you what I, a human looking to help and learn, have benefited from by volunteering for the environment.  Since volunteering is not limited to work for the planet, my points here won't be specific to environmental volunteer work, though I may cite my experiences.  Here's hoping by the end of this, you'll feel empowered to get out there and help, both for a cause you believe in and for your own personal growth.

Let's dive in!

​Horizon gazing
Wings apt to brush canvas sky
A rainbow in flight

Nestling branches
Lay the setting vernal sun
African twilight

​Tall barren branches
Sunlight breaching, kisses the land
Gentle warming light

Ruffle of feathers
Perched beyond rolling waters
In self reflection

​Humans are a complex thing.  We are among the few species on the planet capable of thinking outside ourselves, but are notoriously bad at realizing we never do this correctly.  That isn't to say humans aren't doing their best to understand others, but we tend to attempt this phenomenon by inserting ourselves into the other's place.  In theory, this allows us to consider how the other person is thinking and feeling.  In reality, we're only gaining an understanding of our own reactions to what that person is going through.  We're, simply put, not that other person.

Humans have also tried this tactic when confronted with complex topics.  As a species, despite our locations across the world, humans have created constructs to better understand this planet.  More often than not, we try to bridge that understanding by turning those complexities into people, personifying the mysterious or ambivalent.  Among those complexities are things like water, war, fertility, and, you guessed it, the Earth itself!  Let's dive in!