the open space, absolutely silent and still. One could have touched them; there was no fear in them and sitting on the ground we watched each other till the sun went behind the peaks.
If you lose touch with nature you lose touch with humanity. If there's no relationship with nature then you become a killer; then you kill baby seals, whales, dolphins and man either for gain, for `sport', for food or for knowledge. Then nature is frightened of you, withdrawing its beauty. You may take long walks in the woods or camp in lovely places but you are a killer and so lose their friendship. You probably are not related to anything, to your wife or your husband; you are much too busy, gaining and losing, with your own private thoughts, pleasures and pains. You live in your own dark isolation and the escape from it is further darkness. Your interest is in a short survival, mindless, easygoing or violent. And thousands die of hunger or are butchered because of your irresponsibility. You leave the ordering of the world to the lying corrupt politician, to the intellectuals, to the experts. Because you have no integrity, you build a society that's immoral, dishonest, a society based on utter selfishness. And then you escape from all this for which you alone are responsible, to the beaches, to the woods or carry a gun for `sport'.
You may know all this but knowledge does not bring about transformation in you. When you have this sense of the whole, you will be related to the universe.
Это не чрезвычайная голубизна Средиземного моря; у Тихого океана эфирная голубизна, особенно когда с запада дует слабый ветерок, и ты ведёшь машину на север по прибрежной дороге. Эта голубизна так нежна, ослепительна, прозрачна и полна радости. Иногда случалось увидеть плывших к северу китов, выпускавших фонтаны, и изредка показывались огромные головы, когда они выпрыгивали из воды. Однажды их была целая стая, извергавших фонтаны воды; они, должно быть, очень сильные животные. В этот день океан был тихий и совершенно спокойный, как озеро, без единой волны, и не было этой прозрачной танцующей голубизны. Море уснуло, и ты глядел на него с изумлением. Дом стоял над морем — прекрасный дом,[14] с тихим садом, зелёным газоном и цветами, очень просторный, полный света калифорнийского солнца. И кроликам этот дом тоже понравился; они приходили ранним утром и поздним вечером и поедали цветы, недавно посаженные анютины глазки, ноготки и другие мелкие цветущие растения. Невозможно было удержать их, хотя вокруг сада была натянута проволочная сетка, а убивать их было бы преступлением. Но кошка и сова-сипуха порядок в саду навели; чёрная кошка разгуливала по саду, а сова пряталась днём в густой листве эвкалипта; её можно было видеть, круглую и большую, сидящую неподвижно, с закрытыми глазами. Кролики исчезли, и сад пышно зацвёл, а голубой Тихий океан легко катил свои воды.
Лишь человек создаёт беспорядок в мире. Он безжалостен и чрезвычайно склонен к насилию. Где бы он ни был, он всюду приносит горе и смятение, и самому себе, и окружающему миру. Он сбрасывает отходы и разрушает, не зная сострадания. В нём самом нет порядка, и то,
It is not that extraordinary blue of the Mediterranean; the Pacific has an ethereal blue, especially when there is a gentle breeze from the west as you drive north along the coast road. It is so tender, dazzling, clear and full of mirth. Occasionally you would see whales blowing on their way north and rarely their enormous head as they threw themselves out of the water. There was a whole pod of them, blowing; they must be very powerful animals. That day the sea was a lake, still and utterly quiet, without a single wave; there was not that clear dancing blue. The sea was asleep and you watched it with wonder. The house overlooked the sea.[15] It is a beautiful house, with a quiet garden, a green lawn and flowers. It's a spacious house with the light of the Californian sun. And rabbits loved it too; they would come early in the morning and late in the evening; they would eat up flowers and the newly planted pansies, marigolds and the small flowering plants. You couldn't keep them out though there was a wire netting alI around, and to kill them would be a crime. But a cat and a barn owl brought order to the garden; the black cat wandered about the garden; the owl perched itself during the day among the thick eucalyptus; you could see it, motionless, eyes closed, round and big. The rabbits disappeared and the garden flourished and the blue Pacific flowed effortlessly.
It is only man that brings disorder to the universe. He's ruthless and extremely violent. Wherever he is he brings misery and confusion in himself and in the world about him. He lays waste and destroys and he has no compassion. In himself there is no order and so
