Our biosphere is filled with life — from the reviled and peripatetic cockroach, on land, to the admired and peaceful blue whale, at sea. We have, however, still not achieved accommodation with Gaia, with Mother Earth. Homo sapiens, continue to thoughtlessly plunder and decimate our natural systems. The consequences of this disharmony are becoming more and more evident. At present, the earth is in the throes of a sickness of sorts — inundated with physical, psychological, and spiritual crises.
Every thoughtful person can sense that change is in the air. On the extremes, we are told that as ecological disaster accelerates, with nuclear war in the offing, societal breakdown will follow. Such dire predictions of mankind’s demise have been foretold before, of course. (1) Humanity, in all of this, has proven itself to be most resilient time and time again. At present, however, we are entering into a different epoch — the Anthropocene Age (2) — a time, at all levels, wherein human beings truly control the globe.
This is not necessarily a bad development. We are clever and warm-hearted creatures, for the most part, who want the best for each other and for the planet. I would agree with this statement until the Internet Age. The web has reinforced an age-old concept that could be dispelled by rational thought, but only reinforced by rote methodologies. I am speaking about the concept of fear. We live in a fearful time. Social media has reinforced that evil exists in the world. (3) It is, in fact, the basis for human existence, some maintain. We must be apprehensive of everything — the bugs, the bees, the birds (the list is too vast), and especially each other.
This is, of course, pure nonsense. The only person who can make me afraid is myself. The indoctrination, unfortunately, begins at an early age. I am afraid of doing poorly at school. This means that I might not get into a good university. I fear not being successful at my job. This means that I may not have enough money. I shudder at not saving enough lucre. This means I may be poor when I get old. I am terrified to age biologically. I might get sick.
If this fright were only isolated to people, that would be alright. It would eventually die out and a braver generation would come to pass, I believe. We are now passing it on to our wildlife compatriots, nevertheless. This has to cease immediately if we want a civilization in the time ahead. Why do we fear the great white shark? This is because of the 1970s movie, Jaws, is this not true? (4) I was recently on a flat-bottomed tourist boat and a cockroach — a cockroach, no less — threw the passengers into such a frenzy that we almost destabilized the boat.
Now, I am not an advocate of radical environmentalism. (5) But, there is no question that we must find a way to live among all creatures — the big and the small. Failure to do so will have serious consequences in the future. Being the ultimate optimist, nonetheless, I know that we are up to the task. Our world, as we know it, will just have to become a gentler and more loving place.
Henry David Thoreau (6) leaves us with a thought: We need the tonic of wildness. … At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.
A closing thought: We are told that to escape the concrete of urban life, we should go to a park, take our shoes and socks off, and proceed to stroll on the grass. This mundane piece of advice has some merit. It is this simple for us to re-bond with nature. A further slice of counsel would be to kill nothing needlessly — this includes the mosquito and other lowly and unpleasant brutes. To exist, all must have their place and necessity in the web of life. (7)
To sum up: This week, we spoke about respecting nature and all of its life.
To be noted: From Mark Twain (8) — By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
Just for fun:
For reflection:
This week, on your reflective stroll, please ponder what are your thoughts on the natural world.
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Don’t be a wage slave – critical thinking is great!
Quote: Our natural world shields us from the vagaries of life.
Footnotes:
1) Climate endgame: risk of human extinction ‘dangerously underexplored’
2) Anthropocene
3) Why We’re Obsessed with Understanding Evil
4) Jaws Official Trailer #1 – Richard Dreyfuss, Steven Spielberg Movie (1975) HD
5) The Third Decade and Beyond: Radical Environmentalism in the Twenty-First Century
6) POLITICAL THEORY – Henry David Thoreau