Rain, an introspective glance at humanity

Today was really nice. I went to the gym at school, and it was really hot outside, so I had my windows down on the drive over. Then it started raining. The rain actually smelled and felt really nice, so I didn't close my window. My absolute favorite weather is rain on a hot day. I got to thinking about how last year we had such a terrible drought, and this year we're having such flooding. I thought about my religion class and about how a lot of religions struggle with the idea of man's relationship with nature. In the west, most people choose to try and dominate nature. We cut down trees, domesticate and eat wild animals, and make electricity out of chemicals. For the most part, it seems that western man has decided that man belongs atop all of creation, and has the right to dominate nature. But ah, no matter how many roads we pave or cows we genetically engineer to be tastier, man still hasn't figured out how to deal with the ebb and flow of weather. The amount of rain that comes in a year may easily determine a farmer's output and profit for that year. A suspicious virus - SARS, West Nile, Mad Cow, Hoof and Mouth, etc. - may completely stun the livestock industry. I love the rain. It makes the outdoors smell so fresh, and to me it serves as a reminder that nature is far more powerful and wise than man. The natural order of things is very beautiful, and instead of fighting with nature, if man could learn to live in harmony with nature, maybe people would get to experience that ellusive inner peace that they cannot buy with their dollar bills. I think I will go hiking very soon. Peace.