What’s your own relationship to the natural world?
I’ve realized over the years that I really have to be around raw natural beauty on a regular basis. Otherwise I feel a bit off-kilter. But it can be anywhere, really — a tiny beach, or an empty field, or bike path through the woods. In the U.S. especially, there’s so much open land. You just have to take a step or two off the beaten path.
Were you a nature-loving kid, and do you think this will appeal to nature-loving kids?
Kids are inherently in sync with the natural world. It’s where they belong. They need space to run and act like animals, and the natural world gives them that; there’s a symbiosis between young humans and nature that’s as old as our species. If you set a kid up in an estuary, they can entertain themselves all day. But we have to let them explore, and trust that they’ll be okay. As a kid, I remember spending the vast majority of my childhood outside. The Chicago suburbs didn’t have a lot of Grand-Canyonesque natural splendor, but we had innumerable trees, and ravines, and a lot of open land, and Lake Michigan, which is really an inland sea. And every season had limitless options, winter being, I thought at least, the most dramatic and beautiful and fun to goof around in. Even an icicle colonnade on the side of the garage was good for an afternoon.
Many thanks to author Dave Eggers for sharing this Q&A that delves into the creation of Most of the Better Natural Things in the World!
