To Question Existence

Isn't our quality of life greatly subject to how we view our world and what happens in it? I heard someone say recently, (and I agree), that nature is one of the most beautiful things we are blessed with in life, but then I began thinking about the other side of nature, that it can be as ugly as it is beautiful. Nature makes no judgements, it is what it IS and goes about spinning its wheels in a self-sustaining fashion that has no conscience, morality, guilt, or prejudice. Pain, suffering, loss, separation, death ... they're all just as much a part of nature as the beauty and wonder we find in it, yet something innate in humans has chosen to focus on the elegant and wondrous side for the most part. What is that element, I wonder, that makes us separate the ugliness from the rest, and keep it in a place of distance and observation, rather than embracing it as we do the joyous and exquisite? Is good and bad, (or good and evil), something we've invented for our survival as a species, or a tactic we've devised for our own benefit? There's something very deep-seated and visceral about it, I believe, that may be one of the few positive things that intelligence and self-consciousness have given rise to ... THAT'S what is so special about humanity, I think, this ability we possess to separate and appreciate - even DEFINE - beauty, elegance, symmetry, grace, kindness, joy, togetherness, passion, compassion, peace, forgiveness, caring, love.... I find it nigh incomprehensible at this point in my life, that the fact that we were given this core capacity to recognize the beauty around us, AND have been brought to consciousness on the most wondrous and fascinating planet we know of, is just coincidence. THAT and all else of a spiritual or ethereal nature is conjecture for all of us, (and faith for many), but I feel strongly that there is order in everything, however chaotic, and an intelligent intent behind us and our Universe ... For me it is far too amazing and overwhelmingly grand to be anything but.... I'm not intimating any clear view beyond the face value of these statements, (as my personal search goes on), but I am thankful for these gifts we have been given. I hope when all is said-and-done, that we have made the most of it as a species, and not squandered it away with selfishness and vanity. I pray man survives his self-destructive nature, and bears redeeming witness to his intelligence by proving that he was worthy of his dominion over this world and its creatures, and that this legacy of recognition and appreciation was indeed granted to the worthiest of beings ... But if our trending directions and actions continue as they are now, I fear that will not be the case, and our propensity for greed and graft and the utilization of resources at all costs, will be our undoing. I see signs here-and-there that at least a small contingency of our species realizes the dire direction we are headed in and wants to affect positive change, but until it's an overwhelming majority, sheer numbers will dictate our fate. I often think that this world would be far better without us, but so much permanent damage has already been done - we have left our indelible mark on this amazing planet, and that makes it a moot point, sadly. We have left a lasting scar on Nature's priceless visage, and if any intelligent creatures from elsewhere in the Universe ever DO find this gem that sustains us, I fear they will curse us in our negligence. I pray I am wrong, and that we change that fate before we insure it, even though our insight and vision for the future seems to be limited to the balance of our individual lives. If only we can see beyond that, and give proper weight and care to the fate of those of our species that will come after us ... if we haven't already sealed it.