bugbeast's Nature Photos

Still, at the core of this idea is a level of awareness for the way humanity views nature in general which I often find myself thinking about. It's quite literally ingrained in our nature at this point. The closer an organism is to us (the more humanoid, the more we can see ourselves in them – as long as they're not *too* close [people tend not to like monkeys much] the more empathy we regard them with). The average person will have a semblance of care for a dog or a cat (which are considerably expressive) but very little for a plant, for example. Insects, snails, and the likes fall into that same category.

I wouldn't feel too bad about moving the corpse, however, considering humans are at the end of the day, part of nature. We *are* supposed to leave an impact, a trace, evidence of our existence. Not because we are humans, but because we exist, and all existing beings get to leave something behind. Moving things around is the least harmful way we go around it.

As for doing it for the aesthetic – I think that's definitely the most complicated part. I don't know whether the way I view this is just my way of providing myself with a semblance of comfort, but if sentimentality is to be pushed away (which in and of itself is impossible, but looking at it theoretically) doing something like this might be unsettling, but ultimately harmless. Doing things for fun is how we are wired, and indulging in that pleasure is fine. From a moral standpoint, there is technically no harm in it unless we wish to regard this creature with the ethics and honor we might a human. That's where the problem arises, I assume. Still, you can consider it more like a funeral tradition. Think of it as a deceased's family clothing them elegantly before burrowing them into the earth. Placing the shell on a piece of wood is in a way finding beauty in a sad moment. Something we practice amongst each other with affection. That in itself is a sign of respect.

Yet there is no denying that when people make decisions like this, it's usually on a whim. Why? Because no matter what, most of us cannot fathom viewing something so other as *alive*. We know they're alive, but we struggle to process it. Much like we know that the sun is huge, but we can't truly grasp the size of it. And that in itself is a limit humanity has yet to surpass.

R.I.P

Nymph of some kind; the shape suggests grasshopper, but I couldn't find any images online that match this exactly so I'm not sure of the species or if that's even what it is