These are very good points, senorita. We are a funny bunch who often mistake the map for the territory.

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.” – Alan Watts

What I love about being a "witness' to the magnificence of nature is being able to use different 'lenses' at different levels of magnification. I can stand back and take the whole of the cosmos and see it as the Dance of Shiva or a Chaotic cloud of yin-yang possibilities with myriad manifestations. On the other hand, I can zoom in and use exacting methods to understand the interacting components of the universe's glory. For this reason, animal form and behaviour are extremely fascinating to me. I enjoy learning about the ultimate (evolutionary) and proximate (biological, genetic, environmental) explanations for a given physical trait or behaviour. Some people react against this mechanistic approach because they think that it somehow lessens the magic of nature. But on this, I am with Richard Feynman when he said the following:

One day, we'll take what we learn about animal behavior on Earth and apply it to creatures beyond Earth, if they exist ;)