Wonders of Nature

Let me reveal to you a little secret about myself: I love nature and meditating on its wonders. I can pause to take in the beauty of a flowing river, of the sun setting in the western horizon and of a lone bird soaring high above the ground.

Perhaps it's due to my innate love of nature that I came to enjoy learning biology during my high school years at Starehe Boys' Centre. I particularly liked studying a certain photocopied book of biology essays that lucidly explained wonders of nature such as how polar bears are adapted to living in cold climates.

Later on in 2013, more than seven years after I finished high school, I developed a burning desire to reread that book of biology essays. So I went to Starehe to get it but the teacher I approached, Mrs. Cecilia Kiprop, informed me that she had no such book, something that surprised me since I expected the book to be an essential reading for biology students at Starehe.

Despite that let-down by Mrs. Kiprop, my love of nature has remained undiminished. I have memorized some motivational quotes that draw inspiration from nature. Quotes like "A river cuts through rock, not because of its power but because of its persistence", "A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because her trust is not on the branch but on her own wings", and "The tree that bears the most fruits gets stoned the most."

Now that I have revealed my love of nature, allow me to share with you, my beloved reader, some four wonders of nature that have awestruck me. Only four.

The first is the nature of two gases: oxygen and hydrogen. Those two gases are highly flammable. As every high school student knows, oxygen is needed for combustion. Hydrogen gas is also combustible; it was quickly abandoned as the gas of choice in making hot-air balloons after one devastating accident in which a hydrogen-filled balloon burst into flames.

You know what? When you react those two highly flammable gases, oxygen and hydrogen, you form water which extinguishes fire. Isn't that a wonder?

Equally tantalizing is the nature of the elements sodium and chlorine. Both elements are extremely poisonous. Sodium is a very reactive element; if you were to put it into your mouth, it would react explosively with saliva, leaving you with wounds. Chlorine gas is also harmful; it was used by Germans to kill enemy soldiers during the First World War.

You know what again? When you react those two poisonous elements, sodium and chlorine, you form sodium chloride (table salt) which we add to our food everyday to improve its flavour. Isn't that another wonder?

The third wonder of nature is the composition of an atom, the building block of matter. An atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons are concentrated in the nucleus of an atom while electrons roam around the nucleus. Both the nucleus and the electrons occupy tiny spaces of an atom. Most of an atom is actually vacuum, which makes me wonder where all the solidness we feel in the objects around us comes from.

And the last wonder of nature I will tell you about concerns the human body. I have come to be amazed by the wonderful construction of the human body and the working of its various parts. The human body is capable of having emotions, healing itself from an injury and reproducing itself. And its brain is so sophisticated that it can make us think creatively.

There are sculptors who make likenesses of a human body from wax, rocks and metal. And some of their sculptures are magnificent to behold. But to make the sculptures breathe, grow and think - that has, of course, been beyond the ability of even the most skilled sculptors. Only God can create such a miracle-working machine as the human body.

Before I finish my story, let me leave you with this quote by biologist Rachel Carson: "Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter."

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on some four wonders of nature, you might also enjoy another one on "The Wonder of Honeybees" which I wrote a couple of years ago. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.