May we love the earth not as an object—beautiful nature to pass through—but as a
complex, miraculous subject that we build a relationship with.
Courtney Martin
Talk of interdependence immediately calls up the work of saving the planet, rightly so. But what if the first step toward saving the planet is learning to speak to it? And hear it? Could our collective failure to confront the climate crisis be rooted in our lost ability to listen? What if the quickly-going-extinct creatures don’t want our sympathy, but our ear? What if the fraying of the web isn’t just about us failing to act, but also us having forgotten who we are. And what if nature itself is the only one who can help us remember?
This month our Soul Matters resources offer us an exercise. This exercise is all about leaning into Courtney Martin’s wish for us. We know how to appreciate nature. And, unfortunately, we are very skilled at how to use it. But we are less practiced at building a relationship with it. So, this month, let’s work on a two-way, instead of one-way, relationship with the natural world. The key here is reciprocity, even friendship. Pick an animal, flower, plant or body of water that you have an affinity for or want to deepen your relationship with. Then spend a week (or the entire month) and engage that “natural sibling” in some or all of these ways:
- Introduce yourself and get to know it.
- Take care of it somehow; Support its thriving.
- Visit it regularly, like you would a close friend.
- Capture its beauty by photographing, painting or drawing it at different times of day and in different weather
- Learn about how it came to live in the place it does. Is it natural to your landscape or not?
- Learn its scientific name.
- Learn its role in its ecosystem.
- Learn how Native Americans relate to it.
- Spend an entire day around it.
- Sleep near it.
- Practice the spiritual discipline of listening to it or even talking to it. Want some guidance about listening to the natural world? Try here, here and here
- Bring questions to it. Ask it for advice.
Enjoy these inspirations for your month exploring our interdependence with each other and with the great web of life.
More information and resources available HERE from Soul Matters.