Nature-Humans-Peace by Shasha Zhu

Finally, after two weeks of rain in a row, we have our sunshine back. Raleigh officially has entered fall, and we officially begin our fall break, so I am going to continue with my travel story.

Ready? Go!

For this trip Ying and I chose to admire the great wonders of nature- we went to Niagara Falls. It turned out to be a great chance to enjoy the majesty of nature, as well as to rethink the relationship between humans and nature. This may sound a little abstract, but when we actually stood before the falls, we were literally speechless. Not a single adjective could I think of for such scenery, so amazed was I at the magnificence of nature and experiencing the powerlessness of humans.

We humans may have been feeling too proud of ourselves ever since we began changing the world, based on our own wishes and needs, especially from the time of the industrial revolution and technology revolution. These revolutions still continue today. I think its important for humans to realize that our species’ power has a boundary line, and we should not do whatever we can to meet our own needs. We should try to stay humble in front of nature, and live with nature, to some extent, stay in awe of nature, in order to strike a harmonious balance.

Ying and I went to the boundary line between The United States and Canada on the Peace Bridge, and we were so excited. It is actually nothing special or different, just a metal sign. But when I think about it, maybe our excitement came from the fact that we have seen so much emphasized about country boundaries. Shouldn’t we assume a boundary line between countries to be peaceful? We have the right and also the responsibility to make it happen.

I believe every one of us loves a peaceful world, despite the fact that people in different parts of the world are still undergoing regional conflicts, even wars. Maybe it is time for us, each one of us, to think about what we can do to promote peace all over the world. What can we do to make our world a more peaceful place to live, where humans live harmoniously within nature, without malicious conflicts and wars? Hopefully, we can make this happen in the near future!

Shasha Zhu