Natural

We make a distinction between what is natural and what is man-made. We think of wood as natural and plastic as man-made. 

Wikipedia describes “rock” as “any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter,” while concrete is man-made from cement, sand, and gravel. Glass is natural and man-made. Natural glass is called obsidian. Man-made glass is made from natural materials that are heated at very high temperatures.

“Man-made things are created or caused by people, rather than occurring naturally.” (Collins dictionary)

If we human beings are part of nature instead of separated observers of nature, then the distinction between man-made and natural becomes meaningless. 

Glass, concrete, plastic, styrofoam, cell phones and hydrogen bombs are natural. They are made by animals who live on this planet and use the elements that are available to them to make things that haven’t been made before. All matter is made up of elements. 

We think of humans as disrupting patterns of nature when we build highways across wildlife habitats. And when we release pollutants that cause acid rain.

But we are nature and the things we produce can only be natural.