My appreciation of nature's generosity and beauty has grown ever since i started caring after a garden, a very sacred garden, in fact, where we may have raked a few dead leaves together, Satish, many years ago. But all land is sacred to a gardener. I feel the prevailing species-ism you are refering to is a cultural aberration, a monstruous denial of that humaneness which St. Francis exemplified.
This is the great story, This story describe that everyone is connect to each other. Everything in this world or universe everything has some reason some meaning in it, each an everything help us ,care us, protect us,feed us,heal us whether its enemy or friend everybody indirectly helping us. So be happy and live life happily, love to everything in this world..
I liked this passage very much, as also listening to all the comments. One thought that came up for me was that nature is not that benign as it seems. When the lion is hunting deer, there is no sign of mercy - the deer is just food. If the lion were to show mercy, it would not be a lion. We see the brutality and cruelty in nature whenever its time to eat. In that, the human condition is unique from the animal one - that we construct stories of morality to guide our decisions, instead of responding instinctively. In that we have a choice - to answer the call of nature, or wait a bit, and ask, "What is our nature?" There are layers, and we can choose to be true to our base nature, or dig deeper.
Thank you Satish. I share your feelings that man is a most arrogant specie when it comes to nature and other species. I am affraid that not only Descartes but monotheist religions as well, some of them still sacrificial, share responsibility for this. Or it may be that some of their teachings have been lost. I recently heard, from a student in the Talmud, that, originally, the very first people of Israel, were forbidden to eat meat, any kind of meat. Not only ST. Francis, but also Chief Seattle spoke of deers and rivers as being the brothers and sisters of the Sioux people .
Two quotes come to mind after reading this, both by Chief Seattle:
"Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”
"Earth does not belong to us; we belong to earth.”
This is a beautiful piece about harmony in nature and realizing that we are one with one another. I love that it reminds us that we are not better than one another whether we compare ourselves to another human, a plant or an animal. We all play a vital role in our earth and this article is such a great reflection of that.
thanks a lot for helping me guide myself from my own wilderness..
this is something to reflect with...
I loved reading this, and the timing is especially appropriate for me, and tomorrow is Tu B'Shvat, the "Jewish New Year of Tree", a holiday that encourages us to honor the Earth through planting trees, eating the fruits of the land, and acknowledging the interconnectedness of species/beings. In modern time, it has been an opportunity to focus on sustainability as well. I look forward to integrating this teaching into the ceremony I am planning for tomorrow.
What an interesting read and perspective. Enjoyed it. As a Christian may I add one more thing? God states in the Old Testament, "I am that I am." He made all that you mentioned, and all have their place and purpose. Therefore I am because He is. How wonderful to think that all living beings come from His hand and therefore all are meaningful.
Jane
Yesterday evening I got the opportunity to see the English documentary movie, “HOME” and today morning I read the article "Worms are, Therefore I am", many don't understand the Nature but the few who understood or trying to understand are the Blessed Preservers of this Nature. Thanks for these great words of Wisdom
What a wonderful view of the world that surrounds us, thanks for giving us that apple byte of wisdom.