Four years ago I wrote a long article trying to understand and explain the physical, psychological and intellectual evolution of the human species through the advent of 'civilization' and how that has given rise to a physical and psychological separation from nature, and a culture of living inside our heads, all of which have disconnected us from, and made us ignorant of, how natural systems work, and hence instilled in us a deep-seated fear of nature.
I said that, as I was able to relearn and rediscover how natural systems work, the fear disappeared and I was filled with awe and wonder. I concluded:
If you were to ask me if, at age 52, I would be willing to give up the rest of my life for the chance to experience five years as a songbird (an average lifespan for such birds -- though crows and geese live 15-20 years and parrots 80 or more), to give up the security and intelligence and property I have accumulated and live free of the demands of human life, spending an hour or four each day finding food, and the rest of the day simply living, just being alive as part of this wonderful, magical world, to be completely free of any demands or restrictions, to be able to fly, I would say: In a heartbeat.
译文:
“周五回顾”专栏：自然之惧
四年前我写了一篇长文试图诠释以下现象：拜“文明”所赐，人类经历了生理、心理和智能发展的巨变，这巨变加剧了人类在现实生活和心灵感官中与大自然的疏离，这巨变也导致了以头脑体验生活的文化的盛行；这些改变让我们与自然疏离，让我们对自然现象的往复更替视而不见；如此，我们深惧自然。
在文中我提到，当我重新学习和发现大自然的运作法则的时候，恐惧消失了。取而代之的是对自然的敬畏和叹服。在文章的结尾，我这样写道：
如果你问我，正值不惑，我是否愿意舍弃余生，换取一只鸣禽的五年（这种鸟儿的平均寿命如此，但乌鸦和鹅能活十五到二十年，鹦鹉则活上八十年甚至更久），放弃一生曾孜孜以求的稳定，小聪明和财富，从此不再俯首听命于人。每天花一到四个小时寻找食物，剩下来的时间用来活着－－天地广阔壮丽，栖身于此足矣。无拘无束，自由高飞。如果你问我，我会说：
“正是心之所往！”