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Nature Vs Nurture- A Compassionate Way

   

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.

-   Dalai Lama


Humans have a natural desire to nurture, which is reflected in their conduct. For decades, the debate over nature vs. nurture and its impact on behaviour has raged on. For a long time, I've been trying to figure out whether one outweighs the other or if they both have an equal impact on our behaviour. With this in mind, I'd like to share an experience with all of my readers that helped me better grasp the importance of both nature and nurture in the rearing of children.

We like early morning walks as a family, and a few months ago, when out strolling on a frigid morning, we came upon two newborn squirrels stuck behind a massive Acacia Nilotica tree, often known as Babul in India. They were all coiled up, eyes closed, and shivering in the morning cold, so I imagined they fell from the nest onto the hard ground.

                                                                 

My initial instinct was to comfort them by holding them, and then I began hunting for their mother. As I couldn't find her, I took the kits home and provided a warm, comfortable environment for them. I started researching their eating habits instinctively as they were only a week old.


I was astounded to see how nature had ingrained in them the instincts they required to grow physically (as they knew how to drink and what to drink) without any outside intervention. At the same time, I could tell they needed instruction and help in order to learn new abilities (climbing, avoiding danger), which I couldn't supply.



We used to look for the mother whenever we crossed the tree in the hopes of reuniting them. After a few days, we noticed the mother and I was able to witness the mother's reunion with her children.




Despite the fact that we only had the squirrels for a few days, I gained a lot of new knowledge and experiences. Thanks to the squirrels, I was able to study and comprehend the behavioural patterns of juvenile mammals. I have seen the behavioural habits of young lizards and birds before. I was also able to see the many difficulties and challenges that a human parent may experience with a newborn child, and I was able to imagine the difficulties that my own parents would have faced while raising me, from feeding to taking care of other requirements and nurturing me to develop new talents.


This encounter with the squirrels taught me many valuable life lessons, including how to recognise and understand a wide range of emotions that I would otherwise be unaware of, and opened the road for me to become more compassionate toward others with whom I share our world. After studying genetics and observing the impact of the environment on behaviour, I believe it is reasonable to assume that both (nature and environment) influence the mind's propensity through suitable behavioural consequences.




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