Man is a lucky creature indeed. We won the evolutionary arms race, a triathlon that started in the primordial soup, then grew legs and ran a foot race out of Africa, before ending with the invention of the wheel. Once clear of our nearest competitors we became the lords of our kingdom, developed an intelligence that sets us apart from every other creature on the planet.
Take for instance the butterfly. It struggles for life over four events, not three: egg, lava, pupa, and then adult. And it’s prize for completing the race, though majestic and graceful, is short-lived.
Man, as a self-conscious entity, observes this struggle and paints the butterfly’s bitter-sweet existence with brushes and pens – which makes you wonder why a creature so disposed to creation also has such a propensity for destruction.
Yet nature does inspire us, and not just in the the arts. Nature’s design and chaos brings inspiration to the engineering world, and medicine, and spiritualism – and it is as much a part of us as we are of it.
When nature reaches out to me – flutters past me on the breeze – it is with words and song that I construct my net to try and catch it. And as I read the words of other, more talented writers than I, I know I am not alone in the pursuit of this inscrutable entity.
And so it was I had the idea for this post, after coming across this passage in Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy, inspired by the rugged wilderness of the Mexico-U.S borderlands:
“He lay on his back in his blankets and looked out where the quartermoon lay cocked over the heel of the mountains. In that false blue dawn the Pleides seemed to be rising up into the darkness above the world and dragging all the stars away, the great diamond of Orion and Cepella and the signature of Cassiopeia all rising up through the phosphorous dark like a sea-net. He lay a long time listening to the others breathing in their sleep while he contemplated the wildness about him, the wildness within.”
Extract taken from All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
Blurred Worlds 
This is a lovely, well-written post, Darren. I am ashamed to admit I have yet to read All the Pretty Horses, but that one excerpt has piqued my interest! I can understand how you might have been inspired to write based on those words. Nature is, indeed, influential in everything.
Thanks, Kate! So glad you liked the post.
I haven’t finished reading it, but the thing that stands out is the deliberately barren and sparse prose that reflects the setting and toughness of the land so well.
Haven’t had time to blog as much lately but hope to catch up with your blog soon!
Reblogged this on ww123.
Thanks for the reblog!
😉
I have to confess I have not read it yet 😦 BAD STUDENT I know I Am Trying!
I have a dream to go to New Mexico and take some images like this one day!
Hi Jasmine
Yeah, those desert skies seem to go on forever. I’d love to go there too, pitch up in a motor home with a guitar and write some songs!
Thanks for the comment 🙂
Your talking my language!!!
So true Darren ~ nature reflects so many parallels for us. I suppose there is destruction in nature as well … have not really given it thought till now.. so creativity and beauty amidst disaster and destruction. Wow – it’s profound to consider… I loved the passage from Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy ~ “the wilderness within” — another profound concept to contemplate! Wonderful post dear friend~ RL 🙂
and to add ~ the name of your Blog as well!! 🙂
Glad my post gave you something to think about, Robyn, as your blog is such a source of inspiration to me. Yeah, that passage really resonated with me, too – for obvious reasons!
🙂