i don't think of it in terms of nature having a role in humanity or humanity having a role in nature, it's more like nature and humanity share a combined role ya know? it's like nature is "built" -- either by some conscious intelligence or by the infinite nature of existence itself -- to evolve new systems which manifest abilities that seem dream-like. life is just the skin of this evolution. . . the result of cosmic matter from distant cataclysms settling down and being left peaceful enough to enter the refined, exotic conditions which begot it. i believe civilization is the uppermost bud burgeoning atop the earth's fertile ground, and humanity is her tool for cultivating it.
if you don't believe we can evolve or that civilization can work, please remember that birthing pains can be as uncomfortable for the mother as the child. but it gets better once it's through
