Have you ever looked at a river and wondered, “Does the river know it is flowing?”
Or stood beneath a tree and thought, “Does this tree know it’s a tree?”
These questions may seem strange, even childlike. But they open up a deep truth about who we are, and what it means to be conscious.
As a naturalist, I don’t believe there’s a god outside the universe, and I don’t believe the universe is a god. I simply believe in nature — the real, physical, material world. But I also believe that nature is more awe-inspiring than anything mystical. And here’s why:
We are nature.
Our bodies, thoughts, emotions, and even our awareness — all of it has emerged from the same matter and energy that made rivers, trees, stars, and oceans. But unlike rivers and trees, we ask questions. We reflect. We wonder.
And that’s not because we are separate from nature, but because we are one expression of it — an expression that can think, feel, speak, create. Through us, nature becomes aware of itself.
The tree doesn’t need to “know” that it’s producing fruit. It just does. It lives its purpose without needing language or self-reflection. And that doesn’t make it less meaningful. If anything, it shows how incredible nature is — that it can function, give, and thrive without needing to name itself.
But in us, nature gave itself a mirror. A voice.
When we say, “I am alive,” that’s nature speaking.
When we look at a river and feel awe, that’s nature admiring itself.
When we wonder about life and death, we are nature becoming conscious of its own mystery.
Not everything in nature needs to think in order to be. But we are the part of nature that can both be and think about being. And that’s a beautiful thing.
So no — a river may not know it is flowing. A tree may not know it is standing tall. But you know.
And in that knowing, you carry the whole universe within you — aware, alive, and deeply connected.
“You are not in the universe. You are the universe, experiencing itself in human form.”