As people made art, constructed cities, and debated over golden ratios, nature was still thriving. In Western colonial societies, the appreciation of the beauty of nature world was steadily growing throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. I imagine a prosperous white society looking out at the beautiful and rugged landscapes, talking about things like “hmm” and aah and there.
However, why is there a common appeal with certain kinds of landscapes, or how would you determine whether the sunsets you see are stunning?
For certain people, beauty is the absence of perfection or repeat. However, for many, it’s the wide-ranging repeated pattern that is appealing and meaningful. It is also unforgettable. Both chaos and order abound across the world of nature.
In the past ten years, an instructor in psychology at Tokyo, Shigeru Watanabe, discovered that Java sparrows could differentiate between music that is harmonious and discordant and prefer the more melodic songs. Maybe that is what human appreciation is also.
Do we always choose the harmonious to the discordant? Regardless of how the distinction may look to us?
It’s not my responsibility to claim your music listening isn’t good. In that regard, harmony is unique in its way beautiful. It is different in appearance and feel as things to everyone. For me, balance can be seen in the way that the branches of trees can be seen and curve around to support one another and the way that rain disappears to the surface of the sea, the sat and sighing at panoramas that are too vast for us to grasp, as well as the moment when there is enough energy to dance to the end of the day.
It is important to remember, however, even when we’re talking about the natural world, that it is not the case that everything has changed to benefit us. In many ways, a wonderful chance that we could be able to find anything beautiful in the first place: flowers aren’t just here for us to see, and trees don’t develop due to us (more than in spite of). And so far as I can tell, there aren’t any tangible advantages to looking at clouds. Our eyes, too, have grown, developed, and learned to be awed by a variety of natural scenes and forms. However, I’m not convinced it could be said in the reverse direction around. If you were to ask for a tree’s opinion, would it consider you attractive? If we could comprehend the conversations of sea creatures, could they have something to speak about human beauty?
With all this in your head, pick the time to rise prior to the sun rising.
I would suggest that you be aware of the sensation of walking across the wet green grass and seeing early spiderwebs while most of the world is going back to sleep.
It is also possible to wander through the streets away from the roar of people, to take note of the smell of the tarmac when the sun touches it, and to observe as the day starts to be colored by the particulars.
If you’re not vigilant, it’s easy to make an amazing routine. On a good day, the ordinary can become extraordinary.