The Relevance of John Ruskin - on Nature

John Ruskin (1819-1900)

“Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty if only we have the eyes to see them.” 

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather. ” 

“Remember that the most beautiful things in life are often the most useless; peacocks and lilies for instance.” 

"I will not kill or hurt any living creature needlessly, nor destroy any beautiful thing, but will strive to save and comfort all gentle life, and guard and perfect all natural beauty upon the earth."

"Mountains are the beginning and the end of all natural scenery." 

"The actual flower is the plant's highest fulfilment, and are not here exclusively for herbaria, county floras and plant geography: they are here first of all for delight."

"There is no climate, no place, and scarcely an hour, in which nature does not exhibit color which no mortal effort can imitate or approach. For all our artificial pigments are,even when seen under the same circumstances, dead and lightless beside her living color; nature exhibits her hues under an intensity of sunlight which trebles their 

brilliancy."

"I would rather teach drawing that my pupils may learn to love nature, than teach the looking at nature that they may learn to draw."

"It is written on the arched sky; it looks out from every star. It is the poetry of Nature; it is that which uplifts the spirit within us."

Gazing is not seeing....

 "The scenery, when it is truly seen, reacts on the life of the seer. How to live. How to get the most of life.... How to extract its honey from the flower of the world."

(Henry David Thoreau)

 

Often we look at scenery by sweeping the landscape with our eyes commenting on its beauty but without really seeing the objects in front of us.  We tend to glance at things, even other people’s faces, and are unable later to recall the colour of their eyes.  To really see something means taking a little time to stop, be still, and look closely rather than merely forming an impression.  Gaze at a mountain, follow its lines and contours with your eyes, the gashes and chasms cut deep into it flanks, the becks trickling down is side, the rocks and scree strewn at its base, the tree of two bent by the prevailing winds, the grassy knolls, the sheep-folds, the play of the clouds across the top and the changing light and the individual character of the place will make itself known to the seer.  It is only by taking our time and letting the scenery unfold  that we can begin to see it as it is.  Then it will not simply be a fleeting impression but an understanding of the character of the place.  

In the Garden

The joy of gardening and how gardens are good for the soul.

I came late to gardening even though I have had a garden for most of my life.  It has always been like an extra room; a sitting room in summer and a spare guest room for the feathered visitors that come with winter days.  Although I have gained much pleasure from the garden, as with any other room in the house it must be kept tidy and maintained.  So for many years I viewed gardening as a necessary task until about ten years ago when I began to enjoy the weeding and planting, the digging, cutting and pruning.  What changed?  Due to stresses and pressures at work, I began to see the garden as a refuge, an escape, and I found myself enjoying the gardening as much as sitting and relaxing there.  How I ever saw gardening as a chore I now couldn’t understand.  I have always loved being outdoors and going into the garden means stepping out under the sky and into the air but most of all, it is offers a myriad of sensations to experience and enjoy.

 

When I’m just sitting quietly in the garden or doing some work there, the vibrancy and beauty of the red roses, the citrusy freshness of the lemon ones, the hum of the bees gathering the pollen from the foxglove bells, and the delicate scent of the honeysuckle on the warm air reach me and I receive them joyfully.  I watch the insects and the worms going about their lives and see and hear the birds in the branches above my head. I see and feel the textures of the different leaves and instinctively recoil my hand under the prick of the holly or sting of a nettle.  I feel the sun on my back or more often here in Cumbria, the soft rain gently patting my face!

Actively opening our five senses, keeping them ever alert to the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures that surround us constantly brings happiness and dispels those feelings of lethargy and boredom that can afflict us.  We live in an artificial world surrounded as we are by concrete, steel, pavements, covered shopping centres, paved driveways and nature is pushed further and further to the edges of our lives, physically and emotionally.

Sit or dig in a garden, walk in a park, observe pots of plants in yards and on balconies and really notice what is around.  Once we switch off the thoughts and concerns in our heads and open ourselves to experiencing the moment, our senses can hone in and pick up all the impressions and communication that nature is offering to us. A renewed sense of wonder is instilled as the natural world displays some of its beauty and diversity.  

I was wrong in thinking of the garden as an extension to the house, another room.  It is much more than that; it is a universe with a life and aliveness that infuses my being, renewing and invigorating the life within me. Utilising our senses fully means experiencing the world about us.  There is so much beauty and wondrous things happening all around us, how can we ever be bored?  

Is it Snowing where you are?

“Is it snowing where you are? All the world that I see from my tower is draped in white and the flakes are coming down as big as pop-corns. It's late afternoon - the sun is just setting (a cold yellow colour) behind some colder violet hills, and I am up in my window seat using the last light to write to you.”
 

(Jean Webster)