Do you still remember your childhood curiosities and questions you were afraid to ask or received unsatisfactory answers – the ‘why and how’ about Nature? The pages of the book Time Out: A Second Look at Nature have your answers. Now, we are facing more daunting challenges – the devastating consequences of man’s greed which led him to attempt to redesign nature – a perfect creation of God. The solution? The overwhelming number of well-meaning people on earth can ignore ‘conformity’ and embark on the “Great Backward Journey” back to Nature to realize the Paradise earth still within our reach.

Introduction
The Great Backward journey, as unusual as the title sounds, is a proposition that explains that the only way to ameliorate the current unacceptable state of our world is the need for humans to go back to Nature.
In pursuing money and other vices, many people forget who created them and for what purpose. As a result, all living things are witnessing or feeling the uncertainties, insecurities, and possible destruction the earth itself is facing.
Turn on your tv set to your chosen network to hear and watch wars going on in some countries; drought, famine, wildfires, pollution of the atmosphere, and our water systems. The questions this article will answer are “how and why?” did the pursuit of material things – shiny objects that must be left behind at the end of it all – divert human beings away from the Creator’s intentions – to take care of the earth?
Could any other thing be the root cause of these events?
To avoid leaving any stone unturned, the post also examines whether the sad situation was designed by the Creator or due to human, animal, or plant activities. How easy it would have been to get the answers if it were possible to talk to or consult the Creator.
The quest starts with examining the creation itself and then the activities of all God created – plants, animals, and human beings. The results from the inquiry will show the need for the great backward journey – the epic ‘travel’ back in time, back to the Creator. Yes, one is bound to go back to the drawing board to get it right if he forgets the reason for a journey or materials needed for a project one is involved in.
The Creation
Is it possible that the current state of our world is due to design errors or what the Designer had in mind, necessitating our going back in time – the great backward journey? The question itself is absurd, showing we don’t know who the Creator is. Are humans in the position to question or recheck the Creator’s work? Can the Creator, God, make a mistake?
God is divine, a spirit with infinite knowledge and power; the beginning and the end. God, a perfect being, can’t make a mistake, and there can’t be a flaw in His designs. But how can we be sure these qualities attributed to the Creator are accurate since we can’t see or have a conversation with Him?
Going by the complexities of what He created makes us be sure of who He is. Consider: He intentionally made Himself invisible, but all He created visible. Besides, He gave us all the necessary resources to do whatever we wished. He provided food, water, sun, air, arable soils, plants, and animals to help us survive and perpetuate our existence here on earth. He also provided us with the brains, senses, conscience, etc.
All these gifts make life on earth possible and happy. Would it make sense to believe that the Creator who provided all these good things also added to the mix: suffering, hatred, and all sorts of evils we witness here on earth? No! It is more reasonable to conclude that our problems here on earth are not due to design errors or that the Creator willed evils on His creations. We must look elsewhere for the causes of evils on earth.
Plants And Animals
In this section, we investigate whether the activities of plants and animals could be that destructive to the earth to warrant a backward journey – going back to the Creator. We know that plants and animals have no minds of their own – they behave as created. They don’t pollute our environment but rather enrich it.
They are not greedy; they take enough and no more. They don’t go on a killing spree or conquer and occupy others’ territories. Don’t you wonder why powerful animals like lions, tigers, elephants, sharks, etc., are not seen living in every spot on earth? With their type of strengths, they should conquer and dominate other animals. No, they don’t do those evil things. They stay in their Creator-assigned places in the world.
They can’t envy or hate. They can’t manufacture anything, not to talk of manufacturing poisonous medicines, instruments of war, or anything that can put living things in any danger. Instead, they provide all that make life on earth possible. They provide food, medicines, and services to all living things. Animals also provide clothing. Plants and animals can even give up their lives performing their duties. It is true that plants and animals do not contribute to the evils of our earth.
Humans
Finally, we are left with examining humans and their activities. It does not need rocket science to figure out that the behaviors and activities of humans create unacceptable conditions here on earth. Humans envy, are jealous, and plan all sorts of evils that have turned our earth, created to be a paradise, into a war zone.
The question here is, what brought about this behavior change in humans? The Creator gave humans the brains, senses, conscience, and other resources with which to accomplish their tasks of taking care of the earth, as clearly identified here. But going by the behaviors of humans (shown above), there are no other conclusions than that humans lost their knowledge of who created them and the purpose for their creation.
This is why humans and only humans) must embark on the great backward journey. As stated earlier, if for any reason a person forgets the content of a message he was supposed to deliver, the only reasonable choice is to go back to the drawing board or the person who sent him to refresh his memory.
The most unfortunate part of this quagmire humans put themselves in is a false belief that they can achieve eternal bliss their own way instead of following the Creator’s prescriptions. But humans can’t rival the Creator! Humans were brought into existence by God. They don’t know what He knows. It is foolish to try to fix what is not broken. Because the creations by God are perfect.
So, trying to redo or alter in any form of God’s creations will only result in disaster, as we have seen from what is happening here on earth. Man has set up institutions, and prayer houses, designed different types of drugs and war implements and used chemicals to alter the composition of our arable soils, our animals, and crops in the hopes of producing more and better alternatives.
The outcomes of such foolish endeavors have been disastrous. For example, humans engineer pest-resistant seeds called GMOs or inject chemicals into animals to produce more meat, milk, etc. Because they don’t know what the designer or Creator knows, their food types produce inflammations in the body due to rejection. As the book explains, you can’t use water instead of petrol (recommended by the designer) in a car. The result will always be disastrous.
As analyzed and explained in the Time Out book, the duties of humans are not to redesign or recheck God’s work but to understand and recognize who created them and provided all their needs to thrive; take care of and protect themselves, and what belongs to them from predators. This includes obeying the command, “go get” the food (whatever they need, already provided), eating it, and maintaining permanent existence here on earth through procreation.
The duty includes taking care of the earth itself. Man, then, is empowered to set up rules to govern the earth. To enable humans to execute those functions, He provided humans with the brains, senses, feeling, conscience, etc. But, going by what is happening here on earth now, it is clear man removed his focus from his duties and does not remember or care about who created him.
You can experience this attitude in the toxic relationship among humans – lies, cheating, and killing, which is now the new normal. Visit any country during electioneering or voting periods to see that truth fled the earth and was replaced by lies. Then check out the justice system and see that there is no justice in the justice system.
Imagine it, a person is protected from self-incrimination in court cases! To achieve this, a lawyer is always provided for the person. The council is duty-bound to do all in his power (twist the law or truth) to protect his client. In most court cases, sadly, victory always goes to the party with the best lawyer. It is really true that truth was chased out of the earth.
If you check out sales and other businesses, you will be shocked by the different tactics employed to deceive and lure customers into buying. Generally, only a few people do anything for the benefit of other people. Every person looks for an advantage over the other. This is where we are in a world created to be a paradise. Obviously, to reverse course back to God’s intentions calls for going back to the drawing board.
The Problems Start
The evils of this world are developed and nurtured in and outside our homes; including human-established institutions and places of worship.
To prove the authenticity of this claim, you only need to watch a human baby (any human baby) develop and grow. The child starts as a sweet, adorable, and harmless person. The baby does not see a black, red, or white person. It sees only a person. Then our homes, outside influences, the media, and our religious institutions do everything they can to teach the child whom to love, hate, and who is below or above him.
Yes, some children learn that they are above the world and must be worshipped by the rest of us. Due to these influences and indoctrinations, the child may grow into an adult hating the world. And one day, they may pick up a weapon shooting everybody.
Think of the type of homes that can raise such a child – ‘modern’ homes where the husband and wife are equal co-partners and children are thought to care for only themselves. These homes and institutions teach that money is everything to the extent that money is worshipped. Even some people can ‘sell’ their own mothers if that could fetch them money.
There is no limit to what people can do in pursuit of money. Because they believe that with money, everything – power, influence, mansions, or any type of luxury – is assured. Once immersed in the pursuit of wealth, they can’t get enough. Then how do money-worshippers see the sufferings caused by money – poverty, hunger, destitution, and most evils we witness here on earth?
If money means everything, how can a person care about the burning of fossil fuel that pollutes the atmosphere and triggers the greenhouse effect?
In many third-world countries, oil drilling is done with little attention paid to environmental damage, health, and welfare of people, animals, and marine life. Imagine a system that employs lawyers to defend evils, or a person is allowed to take the fifth to avoid self-incrimination, as stated earlier. Do you see justice?
Have you watched electioneering or campaigning for positions like the presidency, house or senate, etc., positions in almost all countries? The levels of lies, bribery, killings, etc. will make you wonder whether God created those people – no reverence, no regard for the Creator of all things.
Is it possible Muslims, Christians, Catholics, Hindus, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc., live in these places not to talk of being participants in those evils? Do these people say they ‘pray’ and ‘worship’ God? They claim they want the positions to serve their people. Really?
I have never witnessed a politician giving up his position to his opponents in recognition that the other is better qualified or will serve their people better. Don’t forget the driving force: money.
Generally, leaders of our places of worship, politicians, holy people, and get-rich-quick people will always talk about the sanctity of life and will be quick to send their thoughts and prayers when calamity strikes. Do you see these people remember the sanctity of life if there is an opportunity to make money?
Have you considered why the Israeli/Palestine war is still raging on and why many countries were colonized, reducing them to third-world status?
Try and ask yourself why there is hunger, diseases, and poverty worldwide. All are due to an insatiable quest for money. Take Sudan, for example, it doesn’t know how to manufacture war equipment. But visit their battlefields or rather google it and see the type of sophisticated war instruments they use! How did these instruments of destruction get there?
Does it matter how many children were killed or orphaned, how many men and women were killed, or properties destroyed? No! What is important is how much money can be made. Think about how much money selling or buying ten armored cars will fetch! Then should any person care about the evils committed with these instruments of war?
The current war is between Russia and Ukraine. Really, between Russia and Ukraine? Consider this scenario, since we are concerned about the sanctity of life: before the beginning of the war – there was only the threat of war, the leaders of NATO, G7, the UN, the head of the Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches, etc. summon Mr. Vladimir Putin or meet him in Kremlin and persuade him not to wage war on Ukraine?
Go ahead and say that I have lost my mind to imagine such a scenario! Why is this scenario impossible if we are interested in life’s sanctity and care less about money? But you can only imagine the atrocities going on in Ukraine now, in a world God created and beautified for our pleasure and comfort, the Paradise earth.
I have always wondered why our world is in this turmoil. I can’t see anything missing in the provisions of the Creator. Besides, all these things are provided free of charge. How did money come to dominate our lives and become our god?
There are also numerous religious institutions with their leaders, “all preaching and teaching about God.” But when you consider the sorry state of our world, don’t you question what these institutions teach and preach?
All the bad things of this earth are committed by people of this earth and not people from another planet. These people worship and pray in one of the thousands of places of worship. What do they preach to these people – about who created them and their duties here on earth or about money?
Take the case of a person who committed one of the horrendous atrocities. What does the leader of the prayer house, the holy man, do? Will he admonish the criminal or even resign from his position to acknowledge failure in his duty? No! The holy man would do none of those, unfortunately.
He would rather encourage the miscreant with the words of consolation, “We are all sinners, simply say the name of God, and all your sins will be forgiven. Nobody can qualify to enter heaven by his own deeds, only by the will and grace of God.” You know the rest of this story.
With the number of people who ‘claim’ to love and worship God as high as 85% (the estimate is mine) of the world population, don’t you wonder why the evils of this earth have reached this level? How can anybody show these claimants even know who the Creator really is?
Certainly, humans got it wrong from the beginning or were misled by their religious instructors and need to go back to the drawing board.
The Journey
Luckily the Great Backward Journey can’t be any physical journey. How can that be? As shown here, the problems of this world are man-made due to the free will bestowed on humans by the Creator. Nobody can question or argue with the Creator. Therefore, it is human beings that will solve it.
The resources to solve the problems are already provided by the Creator. The obstacles to achieving them are lack of awareness, pressures of work and family, and the burden of “conformity.”
But we have the book – Time Out: a second look at nature – for details to achieve this. In this project, nobody is required or forced to do anything. You are only asked a question, and even the answer is for yourself: Look at yourself and around you. If you are unhappy with what you see or touched by what you read in this post, the next question will be: can anything be done to correct the anomaly? We have no choice but to go back to nature.
Signs of the Paradise earth
It is encouraging to see that many people worldwide have seen or experienced the effects and consequences of unauthorized human behaviors and actions as described above. They understand that the disobedience prevents the realization of Paradise earth.
The following are what these people are doing to reverse course and return to nature: A group of men and women called “Doctors without borders” are working around the clock, all over the world, providing help to those who need it.
Another group is engaged in cleaning the seas and oceans, targeting oil spillage, and removing plastic debris that is poisoning marine life.
Think about disasters like earthquakes, wildfires, floods, car crashes, and volunteers who risk their own lives to save or help people they don’t even know in these events.
Remember the concerns and reactions of people worldwide about climate change due to the pollution of our atmosphere that results in the greenhouse effect?
Remember the worldwide cry over the killing of one special and loved lion in Kenya? People worldwide took to the streets for many weeks because a US policeman murdered a man by callously kneeling on the man’s neck.
Many have turned to organic farming and herbal and natural medicines to avoid poisonous chemicals with their numerous side effects. These examples show that many people reject “our way” to embrace the Creator’s “way.” With these going on, Paradise will eventually manifest itself.
Here, man will reap his own crops, rich countries will not forget less rich countries in their annual budgets. Rich people will not forget their poor neighbors. Our world would turn into a paradise.
The Stumbling block
With so many people working to reverse or turn the situation around, what is delaying the realization of paradise earth? It is called ‘Conformity.’ This is another word for immobilizer – the refusal to follow your conscience for fear of displeasing someone you respect.
This person could be a parent, teacher, religious leader, colleague, or friend. A few examples will clarify this point: Suppose I’m a lawyer handling a case. I see the truth, but I hide the truth because of the oath to protect my client. What of supporting an obnoxious and inimical law simply because it was enacted by my party?
In my religious institution, I don’t believe what they teach. Yet, I can’t leave them and join another I believe in their teachings because I fear displeasing the religious leader, my parents, my friends, and my colleagues. You get the rest. Just imagine the change if we can muster courage and follow our hearts, what is right.
Conclusion
The great backward journey advocates the need for humans to return back to nature to start again and realize the paradise earth within their reach. By studying nature, we can acquire some understanding of why God created the earth in the first place.
First, considering the complexities of all the things God created and with all the needs of living things met, this blog identifies why it is true that the earth was designed to be a Paradise, particularly for humans.
Above all, the Creator provided the invisible brain, senses, conscience, etc., to all living things proportionately to the needs of the specie so that they can negotiate the challenges of living here on earth. For example, humans have higher levels of these invisible gifts than ordinary animals due to the type of tasks assigned to them.
The going back-to-nature need stems from the supposed Paradise earth turning into a living hail. Why? Humans failed to recognize who created them and have turned away from their duties to care for and protect the earth. Their duties include taking care of the Creator’s gifts attached to the body and obeying the command, “go and get” whatever resources you need. For example, if you need food, flowers, fruits, water, etc., you must go and get it. None of these things is designed to come to you.
Thanks for reading this blog. Please leave a comment. I will appreciate it.
This is a great work….kudos.
Your needs can not come to you unless you go for it. The creator has done it’s part by providing all these to us, so it’s left to us His creator to go for it.