In the Arms of Nature

In the Arms of Nature

Enshrouded in the dusky halo of my accompanying lamp, and with some staccato stridulations of the cicadas that survived the beginning of the fall, I finally felt the weak existence of Mother Nature. More often than not, it is only in this deadly hour that I can savor the serenity of nature. The fact is, Nature has been cruelly amputated by human industry and indifference; it cannot fight the garish light of day and can only stealthily sneak out in the night.

When it is time to get up, I am waken by the uncaring alarm of my cell phone, repeating the identical lifeless tune for innumerable times. Drowsily, I get down from my steel bed which always feels cold. Then, I stagger to the bathroom to wash up. Water, polluted but purified, flows automatically from the rusty tap to fill my plastic cup, whose bottom seems to have been contaminated by the remaining purifying chemicals. The water that I drink comes from a drinking fountain, lacking regular cleaning and therefore a cradle for assorted bacteria. Bread and butter are preserved by preservatives, which will probably transform people into mummies.

Having finished the morning routine and gotten out of my dormitory, I start to enjoy a brand new day. I offer my close friends a mechanic smile, my acquaintances an indifferent nod, and strangers a stern look. I do not care how others greet me; my ears are blocked by a huge headset that tries to stuff my mind with mindless music. The natural bonds between people have been severed. I walk into and out of classrooms just like I hop on and off buses.

When having a class, my willful mind roams everywhere save dwelling on the textbook and the teacher's words. With eighty students seated in a monstrous classroom and everyone dealing whole-heartedly with their own businesses, the professor calmly shows his well-prepared but outdated slides -- which hasn't been altered for years.

The stagnant air in the classroom is suffocating. The ventilation system clearly needs to be renovated, which is certainly within the reach of human power. However, such renovation might be in vain because in the summer even the air outside reeks of a rotten odor, which comes from creeks where industrial and daily wastes are carelessly dumped. Anyway, I have to stay in so unwholesome a room, for my hands are cuffed by the educational industry, renowned for its despotism.

After being exhausted by the morning classes, I can finally relish my lunch, which is inevitably prepared in an industrial way. In the school dining hall, I consume the same food as thousands of my fellow students eat; I gorge myself heartily. After lunch I am used to having a bottle of yogurt, despite my awareness of the preservatives put in not for quality but for benefit.

Back in the dormitory, I entertain myself with computer games and social networks that make millions numb. The games are always about competing, killing, and fighting, and the social networks laden with gossiping, quarrelling, and bragging. I am addicted to the Internet, and I do not believe that there is a rehab for such intoxication.

I have become numb. Industry, rather than nature, dominates every aspect of my life. Only in such deadly hour at night when no light can be discerned from other buildings can I feel the existence of Mother Nature. During my life in the day, her countenance is distorted by ceaseless horning of cars and her arms are amputated by incessant removal of fields and forests. Now at midnight she is finally at peace; she embraces me, with her stubs, though.