Nature Awareness, Requirement 11

Based on your experiences, meditations, and research, describe what, in your opinion, makes a place seem "natural." (minimum 100 words)

"Natural," to me, is a term that consistently fails to encompass everything it should. To me, there is nothing that is not natural. If I were to choose things that make a place seem "natural," however, I would choose the following criteria:

• Safety
• Serenity
• Sacrality

That which is commonly described by me as "natural" has a feeling of safety in that I am not in a state of fear when I enter it. I am not being chased by a bear, dodging cars in the street, or out hunting with the Vice President.

Similarly, there is a feeling of serenity. This does not necessarily mean that the place is calm, but more that I am calm inside. There can be serenity in the middle of a quiet forest, or in the center of Chicago at lunch hour.

The place must be apart from the normal, and so must be sacred. This is merely a feeling, one that you cannot describe.

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