Page 26 - Non-violence and peace-building

5

Nature’s Lessons for

Conflict Avoidance

nimals face two big challenges: finding food, and
A defending themselves. Animals have enemies in
the animal world, and so every animal has to arrange
for its protection. The diverse methods that animals use
to protect themselves hold great significance for human
beings, because these methods are natural methods,
bestowed by God. Nature directly teaches these methods
to animals. It is as if animals are students who have
received this training in the school of Nature. Their
ways of acting and reacting are lessons that Nature has
schooled them in. These methods testify to the Creator
who made them.

Consider some examples in this regard:
1. Elephants and tigers are among the largest of
animals. If an elephant and a tiger clash, it can
cause the death of both. They are well aware of
this, and so they always try to avoid each other. It is
very rare that they allow themselves to enter into a
conflict. A war in which the contending parties do
not have the power to eliminate each other always

25