In his 1983 photographic monograph, Syntax, photographer Ralph Gibson juxtapositions images that have some kind of resonance with each other.  The images are stark and contrasty and often the two images are connected primarily by shape or patterns of light and dark.  The juxtaposition inspires the viewer to see visual connections that might not be noticed otherwise.

     In my 2015 photo project, Autumn Leaves: Reflections on Aging, I juxtapositioned images of autumn leaves with images of my body in my 60’s.  My goal was to explore the beauty that might be seen in leaves and in bodies that were considered past their prime.  Implicitly it acknowledged that I am part of nature.

      Pairing images from nature and from my body, now at around 80 years old, that resonate with one another in some way, is an entertaining puzzle. I want to explore, and for viewers to notice, details and parallels that might otherwise be missed: a kind of syntax, to use Gibson’s term.  

    More importantly, though, like the earlier Autumn Leaves project,it is a reminder that we are part of nature.

     For centuries, western culture has emphasized the difference:  human being are viewed as separate, superior to, and dominating nature.  A growing movement is recognizing the error and dangers of that perspective.  Much of the destruction of our environment can be attributed to that mentality.

      The British-based project, “We Are Nature,” began as an effort to get the Oxford English Dictionaryto change the definition of nature to include humans, helping to remedy the dangerous disconnection from the natural world that has characterized much of modern history.    They say, “We believe that redefining Nature is a powerful step toward reshaping how we live with the Earth – not apart from it, but as part of it.  Because what we do to Nature, we do to ourselves.”   Amen.

      When my father was dying, I was reading and thinking about the cycle of nature, and how we are part of it, birth to death, and this helped me come to terms with his death.  The awareness of this natural cycle has become important to how I view life and death.

     In my restorative justice work, I have emphasized some fundamental values:  respect, responsibility, repair, relationships.  All are equally applicable to the human and natural world of which we are part.  Our web of relationships includes both humans and the natural world in which we are embedded.  Because we are in relationship, we have a responsibility for the consequences of our actions.  All parts are due respect, and damaging actions call for repair.  It’s not just a matter of principle; it’s about our survival on this planet.

    Restorative justice invites us to ask, “What harm has been done and how can we make things right?”.  Because our web of relationships includes nature, we might also ask questions such as these:   “What has been lost in our disconnection from the earth?   How might we restore right relationship?”   

      These visual parallels are a reminder that we are not separate from nature, but in relaltionship with it - and that with relations comes both belonging and responsibility.

      After all, we are nature!