Mother Nature is Our First Teacher

Mother Nature,
An Artist's Conception

I bet you never thought about that, huh?  You probably thought your first teacher was Ms Hussein, but it wasn't.  You had Ms Hussein in the second grade.  In first grade, you had Ms Harper.  But even Ms Harper wasn't your first teacher, because you forgot about kindergarten, didn't you!  I don't remember her name, but there must have been a teacher or somebody - they wouldn't have left you alone to eat all those crayons unsupervised.  And of course, before that, there was your mother.  She wasn't paid to teach you, but she still taught you plenty.  I remember my mother once sitting me down and saying, "I'm about to teach you a lesson you'll never forget."  I don't remember what that lesson was, but I'm sure it was very important.

But even before that, your first teacher was Mother Nature, and she keeps on teaching you your whole life.  When you're a little kid and fall down, she's teaching you about gravity.  That's right.  Bust your nose open on the sidewalk, that'll teach you.  You also learn a little about anatomy and blood, but mostly it's about gravity.  Just last week, I tripped on some steps, and dislocated my shoulder.  Thanks Mother Nature, for reminding me about gravity!

She also teaches about physics.  Like when you wash your hands in the sink, you splash water on your crotch, and it's very embarrassing, but it's a good lesson about the behavior of moving liquids, and Mother Nature never gets tired of teaching it,  That's how Mother Nature is; she makes you do it over and over until you get it right.

Another thing Mother Nature teaches is about trust.  Like she'll have a piece of pie and say, "Feel the heat rising off this pie."  And when you hold your hand over the pie, she'll push your hand down so you get pie goo all between your fingers.  Come to think of it, that wasn't Mother Nature, but my big sister.

The thing with the pie was an important lesson, but Mother Nature is still the first teacher.  Who teaches you if you don't put on mosquito repellent in July, you'll be sorry?  Who teaches you, you better put on sunscreen?  Sure, your wife will remind you, but it's Mother Nature who teaches you.  If you eat five pounds of grapes in one sitting, who teaches you what happens next?  That's right, and it's a useful thing to know.  And as far as the thing with the pie goes, that doesn't come up as often as you might think.