An essential part of our personal and planetary healing journey involves developing a greater capacity to embrace all life, show kindness and compassion to all beings, and genuinely appreciate and respect one another. The words of the Dalai Lama eloquently portray this.
To develop a sense of universal responsibility – of the universal dimension of our every act and of the equal right of all others to happiness and not to suffer – is to develop an attitude of mind whereby, when we see an opportunity to benefit others, we will take it in preference to merely looking after our own narrow interests.
We are all global citizens on this journey we call life. Not only human beings, but, plants, trees, flowers, insects, birds, reptiles, mammals, mountains, oceans, and so on are included in this global membership. Each of us plays a role, is imbued with natural intelligence, and deserves the right to a life of happiness.
We humans are in relationship (whether supportive or not) with all life forms on the planet. For example, we have a direct relationship with trees in that we share symbiotic breath; our in-breath is the out-breath of the trees and vice versa. We could not live on this planet without trees just as we could not live here without clean, healthy water which is, of course, essential to all life on planet Earth.
Somehow, we have lost sight of the fact that we are intimately and inextricably tied to the web of life and our own life is contingent upon the life of many other lives. The natural world has been propagating and sustaining life for eons without producing garbage, pollution, hatred, and war. The web of life is a manifestation of love and a perfect model of sustainability. There is much we can learn from the natural world.
Here is a fun exercise you can do to increase your awareness of the natural world. Go outside, preferably in your yard if you have one.
- Notice what is attracting your attention.
- Approach your attraction and ask for permission to connect. Then “listen” for a response.
- If you get an affirmative response, then go to step 4. If you get a “no, not now”, then look elsewhere until you get an affirmative response. Then go to step 4.
- Get to know this being further through your senses. I recommend you skip tasting. Let your child-like curiosity guide you in your exploration.
- Notice what affect this connection has on you. What did you learn about this being? What did you learn about yourself?
- Go a step further and take some time to learn more about this being through research. If you need help with species identification, there are many useful field guides and apps such as iNaturalist and PlantSnap.
- Keep a journal to record your observations, learnings, and experiences.
Learning about the life we share the land with is a good step toward increasing our appreciation for other life forms as well as understanding how to best support the natural world. For, how can we help others when we know little to nothing about their lives and what they need to survive and thrive.
