Man in the realm of nature

There’s a mallard duck that visits my backyard every summer. It never ceases to amaze me - the fortitude with which she sits for 28 straight days, come rain or snow, until a batch of chicks arrive. And then she goes marching off to the lake with her parade. And each time, I am left feeling helpless at her plight - for each time she gets stuck, trying to maneuver her way out of the fenced yard, even though she has been doing this for a while. And each time I am left wondering at the evolution and origins of man. 

We started pretty small too, didn't we? What is amazing is the fierce rapidity of brain size growth within a very short span of time. We started with simple tools made of stone, and we are now in the 21st century, in total and complete control of the universe that stretches ahead and around us. 

I have always marveled at man’s ability to stay on top in the realm of nature. So, when I walked up to the rim of the grand canyon and saw this sight for myself, at first sight, never was I more certain of the power that man commands over nature, and the intensity with which he unleashes it around him. 

But then again, never before have I been so uncertain either. 

In a fast paced world, where resources are being depleted by mankind at a rate never experienced before, this is as good a time as any other to stop and to think. 

How do we really fit in? Where is our place in the realm of nature?

As long as mankind looks forward to a better life, there will never come a day when we decide we have done enough. We will always seek to improve. Research goes on and on endlessly, to make the world faster, better, and more efficient. It is this tenacity hardwired within the human psyche that pushes us in an inexorably upward trajectory. And the further it advances, the more humans expect from it - an endless vicious cycle of desires. 

So, as I stood on that rim, in search of the incredible, something caught my eye. An epiphany of sorts that engulfed me with such overpowering force that for a second, it took my breath away. 

I believe that these two pictures together tell the complete story. While at first sight, man’s place in nature appears overwhelmingly unquestioned, the second one is in stark contrast. What I wanted to capture was not only the enormity of the landscape around me, but also man's place in it. How small, how inconspicuous mankind is; how majestic is nature! It does place mankind in its true perspective, doesn't it?

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda. 

And it won The Badge! :)