The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – Nature"Look below!" - Craaack! About 15 men and women look up at the sky and see a large tree, perhaps 100 feet tall, fall to the ground. When the tree hits solid ground, everything becomes very quiet. Everyone looks at the woodcutter who killed this tree and finds him crying in pain. This situation is not uncommon when dealing with Nature. Nature, as simple as it may seem to some, generates great power. This power is sent to us, as nature only forgives after physical, emotional and spiritual suffering. "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" helps put all these teachings into practice together. Nowadays, this power continues to teach us forgiveness. With physical suffering, the power of nature shows us forgiveness in many ways. In the story, the sailor betrays nature: "I shot the albatross!" This unnatural action is quite extreme, because it takes this thought of death lightly. The albatross, as a representative of nature, means nothing to the sailor. These thoughts, however, quickly change when Nature begins to initiate the penance that leads to forgiveness: "Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink." When "the sailor begins to find his salvation when he begins to regard the 'slimy things' as creatures of strange beauty" (Fraser 203), he understands that the albatross was a symbol of nature and realizes what he had done wrong . The sailor is forgiven after Nature performs sufficient penance – “We could not speak.” Nature shows us more strength when we realize that people today often cannot forgive someone who has shot or killed another person. On a spiritual level, the power of Nature we can decide whether we will live or be condemned. Nature is capable of presenting people with the "most intimate suffering" (Coburn33). The sailor's suffering included his "inaagony of the soul" soon after. After attempts at prayer and the realization of what he has done - "I looked to heaven and tried to pray", he spiritually begins his penance for forgiveness. The sailor greatly unloads the burden of the crime when he could pray".