History Main / InHarmonyWithNature

** The elves in the spiritual "the trees are talking to me" way. After Tolkien's depiction of elves as this, pretty much [[OurElvesAreBetter all elves]] [[FollowTheLeader in any fantasy work ever]] are like this.

* In a subversion Creator/CSLewis in ''Reflections on the Psalms'' claims that a purely aesthetic appreciation of nature does not come to most peoples until they are capable of making artificial environments (i.e. cities), and points out that in many works of ancient poetry when people say that nature is beautiful they mean it is useful. That is, under this theory a hunter-gatherer would think an antelope beautiful because it is tasty, but a leopard definitely ugly because it might think ''him'' tasty; but city folk think leopards beautiful because they live far away from leopards. Of course in that sense primeval man ''is'' {{in harmony with nature}}, because [[CrapsackWorld he is acting just like it.]]

* This trope is almost the point of Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}'', although it's not really historically accurate (see below under '''RealLife''') She can paint with the colors of the wind!

** Magrat seems to ''expect'' witches to embody this trope, even though she's seen enough of them to know they're more farm-oriented than wilderness-oriented. Witches ''were'' generally depicted as more In Harmony With Nature than bookish wizards, at least until ''Discworld/IShallWearMidnight'' pointed out that urban witches are entirely possible.

* In the Franchise/StarTrekNovelVerse, the Kazarites and Irriol are two races like this. The Kazarites have telepathic and empathic links with animals, and accordingly have a culture greatly concerned with preserving natural eco-systems. This empathy extends to animals beyond Kazar itself, allowing them to aid in the restoration of other, more damaged planets. In Literature/StarTrekMereAnarchy, their "ecopaths" play a role in the terraforming of central planet Mestiko, which has been heavily damaged by a pulsar. The Irriol are even more In Harmony With Nature, to the point where they are willing to sacrifice their lives to predators if they sense that the ecosphere is better served by their deaths.

* Ray Mears, a British woodsman, teaches people who to live out this trope in the wild.

* While this was believed to be true for hunter-gatherers inherently, modern anthropologists in many cases have found they have the same problems (albeit of course on a lesser scale) with destruction of their environment frequently. The difference however is that naturally they can't affect this to the same degree. So, when destruction of a habitat occurs, the people responsible will suffer in the long run (e.g. starvation after they kill too many plants or animals) then have it bounce back. Not entirely, however, as obviously species driven extinct will still be gone forever.
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%%* Ray Mears.

* Often assumed to be the case with native North American society, but not really. These guys lived in complicated societies with trade routes, urban centres, and, yes, deforestation. On the other hand, they did understand the North American environment far better than the white settlers did, but that was because they have lived there for thousands of years before any settlers came. It turns out that Native people are human, and not, in fact, elves.
** Although the trope also has a glimmer of truth to it as well. The Native peoples of the Americas generally considered all animals, natural phenomena, and even the land they inhabit (especially mountains and springs) itself to be living beings on par with humans, and treated them as such, with a mixture of awe (at their wealth and power), respect (as individuals with their own wants and needs), frustration (when things didn't go as expected), gifts (as recompense for resources taken or favors to be asked), and threats, trickery, or bargaining (when all else failed).
* In a subversion Creator/CSLewis in ''Reflections on the Psalms'' claims that a purely aesthetic appreciation of nature does not come to most peoples until they are capable of making artificial environments(I.E. cities) and points out that in many works of ancient poetry when people say that nature is beautiful they mean it is useful. That is under this theory a hunter-gatherer would think an antelope beautiful because it is tasty but a leopard definitely ugly because it might think ''him'' tasty; but city folk think leopards beautiful because they live far away from leopards. Of course in that sense primeval man ''is'' In Harmony With Nature; because [[CrapsackWorld he is acting just like it.]]

Contrast with NatureIsNotNice.

* This trope is almost the point of Creator/{{Disney}}'s ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}'', although it's not really historically accurate (see below under '''RealLife''')
** She can paint with the colors of the wind!
* The Na'vi in ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' live in the midst of a jungle, and actually communicate with other animals directly. [[FantasticAesop Which makes it really easy to accomplish, compared to us humans]].

** Radagast the Brown fits this trope perfectly.
** The elves in the spiritual "the trees are talking to me" way. After Tolkien's depiction of elves as this, pretty much [[OurElvesAreBetter all elves]] [[FollowTheLeader in any fantasy work]] [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny ever]] are like this.

* In ''Literature/HowILiveNow'', nine-year-old Piper is like this.
* [[TookALevelInBadass Neville Longbottom]], from ''Literature/HarryPotter'', is an Herbology prodigy, eventually taking over the Professorship in that subject upon the retirement of Professor Sprout.

* ''Series/TheLifeAndTimesOfGrizzlyAdams'': Grizzly Adams lives like this.

* The subject of "In Perfect Harmony" by Music/WithinTemptation, natch.

* Ancient Hawaii. The people had sort of a shifting schedule of taboo that made sure that they never ran out of a resource.
* The Australian Aborigines. Even their religion was based on being in harmony with nature.

** Although the trope also has a glimmer of truth to it as well. The Native peoples of the Americas generally considered all animals, natural phenomena, and the even the land they inhabit (especially mountains and springs) itself to be living beings on par with humans, and treated them as such, with a mixture of awe (at their wealth and power), respect (as individuals with their own wants and needs), frustration (when things didn't go as expected), gifts (as recompense for resources taken or favors to be asked), and threats or bargaining (when all else failed).

* Film/TreasureOfTheSierraMadre: Done subtly-not-subtly with Howard. He's the only one who knows at all what he's doing out in the desert with his fellow prospectors, seems to have a better sense of human nature than them as well, is so spry that Dobbs complains he must be part mountain goat, and reveals that he considers the mountain a living place to be respected, when he insists on dismantling the played-out mine.

* Often assumed to be the case with native North American society, but not really. These guys lived in complicated societies with trade routes, urban centres, and, yes, deforestation. On the other hand, they did understand the North American environment far better than the white settlers did, but that was because they have lived there for thousands of years before any settlers came. It turns out that Native people are human, and not, in fact, elves. Although the trope also has a glimmer of truth to it as well. The Native peoples of the Americas generally considered all animals, natural phenomena, and the even land they inhabit (especially mountains and springs) itself to be living beings on par with humans, and treated them as such, with a mixture of awe, respect, frustration when things didn't go as expected, gifts, and bargaining.

* Often assumed to be the case with native North American society, but not really. These guys lived in complicated societies with trade routes, urban centres, and, yes, deforestation. On the other hand, they did understand the North American environment far better than the white settlers did, but that was because they have lived there for thousands of years before any settlers came. It turns out that Native people are human, and not, in fact, elves.

* Often assumed to be the case with native North American society, but not really. These guys lived in complicated societies with trade routes, urban centres, and, yes, deforestation. On the other hand, they did understand the North American environment far better than the white settlers did, but still. It turns out that Native people are human, and not, in fact, elves.

** Druids. Their spells tend to be split between clerical 'holy' spells and spells that affect and draw on nature. Some can also can shape-shift to battle.

*** The Nature domain for Clerics gives access to a number of Druid spells and a number of plant and animal manipulating abilities

** The hobbits, especially Sam, in that farmerly-wisdom, son-of-the-soil sort of way.

** Rangers are also generally portrayed like this, but have more leeway. Barbarians and spirit shamans are also liable to be associated with this.

* In ''TheBlueCastle,'' Barney lives this way, and when Valancy comes along to live with him she takes to it like a fish to water.

In more GreenAesop {{Anvilicious}} works, this overlaps with FriendToAllLivingThings. Usually, however, living In Harmony With Nature requires you to kill the occasional creature, and even if you never take more than you need and have immense respect for the little critters you're roasting over the campfire, this does tends to deter them from gathering around you adoringly while you sing.

* In ''Adiamante'', a science fiction novel by L. E. Modesitt, Jr., the future people of Earth are In Harmony With Nature because they '''have''' to be. The environmental damage of the past has so damaged the planet that even the most "minor" disruptions would have big consequences.

Contrast with NatureIsNotNice

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* ''LordOfTheRings''. Partly by virtue of the quasi-medieval setting, many of the societies and individuals included are depicted In Harmony With Nature in one way or another:

** The elves in the spiritual "The trees are talking to me" way.
*** After Tolkien's depiction of elves as this in ''LordOfTheRings'', pretty much [[OurElvesAreBetter all elves]] [[FollowTheLeader in any fantasy work]] [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny ever]] are like this.

** Given Tolkien's quasi-Biblical creation myth for the setting, a case can be made that "harmony with nature" directly correlates to "goodness" in it, period. So "good" people and races do live in accord with nature as Eru intended it (without actually going to tree-hugging extremes), morally more ambiguous ones allow themselves to grow out of touch, and "evil" ones just plain can't be bothered to care or actively want to despoil it.

* Parodied in ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''; the wizards expected Mustrum Ridcully to be a "roams the forests with [[FriendToAllLivingThings every beast his brother]]" type, who talked to birds, because he was a wizard who lived in the countryside. He turned out to be a GreatWhiteHunter who ''shouted'' at birds ("Winged yer, yer bastard!"), but he's still more in harmony with nature than the other wizards, who never leave the city if they can avoid it.

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* Druids in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', their spells tend to be split between clerical 'holy' spells and spells that affect and draw on nature. Some can also can shape-shift to battle.
** Druids in general when they are portrayed in fiction. There's little evidence that the real world druids were actually living in any more harmony than the rest of the human race, since we know almost nothing about them.
** In the same game, rangers are also generally portrayed like this, but have more leeway. Barbarians and spirit shamans are also liable to be associated with this.

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* ''WorldOfWarcraft'' features druids, who are (as noted above) described as this. Night elf and Tauren druids especially.

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* In the Camping Episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Marge and Lisa were separated from the rest of their family. With nothing, they managed to have a nice fire and a comfortable place to rest. Marge was even seen sweeping out the hut and arranging the living animals in a row. Homer and Bart, on the other hand, were not so lucky...

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* Ray Mears.

* [[{{Badass}} Neville]] [[TookALevelInBadass Longbottom]], from ''Literature/HarryPotter'', is an Herbology prodigy, eventually taking over the Professorship in that subject upon the retirement of Professor Sprout.

* The elves in ''Literature/InheritanceCycle'' are even more In Harmony With Nature than even Tolkien's elves, to the point that they are a bunch of pompous [[{{Veganopia}} vegans]] who use magic to bend nature to their will.

* Kuraii, from a type of cat species in ''TheGunganCouncil'', is as close to nature as most sentient beings could ever be.