Nautilus

Why Forests Give You Awe

When you walk in a tropical forest, the sheer abundance and variety of life can have a powerful and somewhat disorienting effect.Painting by Caspar David Friedrich (circa 1820-1821) / Wikicommons

an you remember the time when you first felt awe, that feeling of being in the presence of something immense and mind-blowing? The natural world—with its domineering mountains, colossal trees, and tall waterfalls—is one of first when I was a young boy at the feet of the in the world. I felt it next as a young man, when I walked in a tropical rainforest for the first time, in Sri Lanka. Here’s how I described it in my 2016 book :

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