"Things in Themselves"

Landscapes shape our emotions and memories, especially our long-term emotional memories. … I don’t know if there is a specific word that captures this sentiment, but every time I find myself in moments of solitude out in the natural world, whether on a long hike, or while sitting for hours on the beach at our family cottage, I am overwhelmed with a peculiar kind of nostalgia and melancholy at the realization that the objects I encounter, however they might be constituted, have existed before me and will continue to exist long after I’m gone. Moreover, it feels almost as if these objects have fully developed lives of their own, even though, most of the time, we’re talking not just about actually living things like birds and trees and flowers, but also about water, rocks, sand, and other such inanimate natural forms. It’s as if they’re just “doing their own thing” … carrying on with their quiet existence, apart and away from the cacophony of humanity. … This is not exactly meant to be a deep reflection about “deep ecology,” but perhaps an adjacent line of thought.

"Things In Themselves"