THE SPIRITUAL IN NATURE STUDY.
By: R. A. Johnson

Man's thoughts have ever been solemonized by contact with the great Out-of-doors. From the remotest period down to the present hour, the greatest contributions to aspiration and character building have come through the medium of imperishable impressions, from nature's phenomena.

Every group, and every individual experiences a different spiritual impact from a like adventure. With an endowed capacity, character manifestation come simultaneously with an appreciation of natures ways, seemingly, reveling in a million little side edies, but actually harmonizing in one great dynamite current.

In the deep solitude of his own thoughts the lover finds himself almost magnetically drawn to the field or forest. There in the solemn shadows he finds the glory of today personified in the face of a flower and the hope of tomorrow in the pod of another. All around but nowhere visable, the very euphony of hundreds of low voices and wing beats add vastness to the magesty of life's emotions.

The scientist witnesses the processes of baseleveling, the tearing down of the mountains by gravity and erosion, the eternal grind of the glaciers, the changing of lakes to ponds and of ponds to swamps. Even the seasonal color variations of certain animals add the successional cycles of plant growth indicate the complexity of nature's laws.

The naturalist traces many of the attributes of man in diminishing force down through the scale of animal life. In the expression of such common qualities as love, jealousy, fear, devotion, courage, sociability, and loyality man may do well to hold his own. Only by the ability to reason has man been especially gifted.

By the medium of this gift the beauty of creation is revealed. Beauty is an essential and indispensable element of life. We cannot undervalue the ability to appraise those things which nurture within us a greater understanding of things eternal. Thus the nature student with all senses allert finds in the things of the Out-of-doors, the embodiment of the finest sentiments that underlie and enrich our lives.