I guess it's something in the way I see the world now. Where before I only saw a tree, I now see a living being that was there before me and will, likely, be there when I'm gone. I wonder what it would say if it could talk, the stories it could tell. I agree with something Edward Abbey said about a juniper. He said that you could write a whole book about a juniper tree. Not the species itself, but about just one tree. Not sure if this makes sense, but it does to me. 

I also think that my love of nature has aided me in becoming a more caring and accepting person in general. While I still have a way to go, there is something inspiring to me about the solemnity of a mountian, the giggling burble of a country stream, or the soft whisper of wind in the trees. They make me think of how much things change, and yet stay the same. And how we can can get through it all. Persevere.

For example, we pollute the world with all kinds of filth. Yet the mountain still stands; only a microcosm of cataclysm, such as high explosives, can really make them move. That, or a millennium of wind and rain; more than any of us will see in our short time here. And even though we put things into the water that should make the earth weep, the brook still babbles, the stream still giggles; and in time, it WILL clean itself. Even if we managed to kill off our entire race, the natural world would recover and thrive again. It would take time, sure. But it would do it. It's something we can't truly fathom, only allude to. 

And where do I fit in with all of this? Who am I to suppose that I can make any sort of impact? I look at those beautiful mountains, let those streams cool and tickle my toes, and listen to the murmur of the leaves. They don't make an impact on everyone, but they do make an impact. They do make a difference. 

Seeing this helps me realize that I don't have to fit in. I don't have to make an impact. I just have to be me, and love everything that that entails. That by simply being I can, to some place or someone, make a difference. I may never meet this person, or I may only interact with them in passing. I may never know. But I don't need to.