Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

I gazed over the expanse of layered gray, reddish-pink, and white bedrock in quiet reflection and realized the beauty of the earth isn't made for humans. We certainly admire it in a way that is unique to humans, but the Grand Canyon exists for itself. If humans weren't there to marvel at the breathtaking scale, the Canyon will still be here. Changing in the elements as it has for centuries. The view brought to mind the pervasive philosophical question: If a tree falls in the forest with no ears to hear, does it make a sound? In the past, my immediate answer had been "of course". There are other animals and insects around to hear it. However, out on the Canyon ridge, I began to examine the question itself and concluded the question is based in human arrogance. The belief that a person needs to witness the changes in nature for it to exist is arrogance. Our presence does not make the world spin. A big ball of rock, water, topsoil, vegetation, and sand hurtling through space around a star. We can receive from the earth, yet, it is not ours to greedily take over. We share this rock with other living beings. Admiring abundant natural beauty is a gift. The question is: What are we giving back to the earth?