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Becoming more aware

Earlier this morning my neighbor, who was walking his dog,  stopped to chat.  He reported reading an article in the New York Times about the correlation of dogs with  depression and dementia and exercise.  Once we had exhausted that topic we explored that topic of plants.  “You know plants have feelings,” he said.  “Scientists are discovering the many ways plants and trees form communities in which they actually nurture and care for each other by sending out chemical signals when insects attack or they experience other forms of danger.  

Ours is an amazing world.  We humans tend to think of ourselves as somehow superior to and far more important than a butterfly or wolf, bees or trees, yet we each play a critical part in the delicate balance of nature. I often listen to Science Friday on NPR.  Last week they discussed climate change and ways scientists are trying to control the weather by seeding clouds to make it rain, etc. 

community voices

We’ve been programmed to see ourselves as superior to and separate from nature, but in reality we are just another animal species which is integrally connected to its environment. Consequently, we thoughtlessly cut down trees, pave fertile land, drain wetlands to build luxury louses, and clear our coastal marsh lands never considering the ways we are creating the situations that threaten our very existence.  Ironically, we may end up being one of the shortest lived species that has evolved in the billions of years our planet has existed.

Our discussion group at church has been studying Kahil Gibran’s beautiful book, The Prophet.  Sunday we discussed the section on houses.  Gibran begins by speaking to the healing aspects of green spaces, trees, and water after which he says our obsession with power and possessions is destroying our minds, bodies, and souls.  ‘Your lust for comfort and pretty things makes puppets of your larger desires,’ he writes.  “Though its hands are silken, its heart is of iron.  It lulls you to sleep only to stand by your bed and jeer at the dignity of the flesh.  It makes mockery of your sound senses, and lays them in thistledown like fragile vessels.  Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of your soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral.”

Once again I find myself praying the serenity prayer…not to influence the God of my understanding, but to remind myself that while I can’t change the world, I can change myself, and thus help change the world in some small way.  I can help my daughter put solar panels on her roof since our condo association does not allow for solar panels. I can plant more native flowers that attract bees and butterflies. I can find ways to use less water, electricity, and fossil fuels. I can wash and reuse plastic bags and use reusable bags when shopping, I can avoid impulse buying to avoid accumulating unneeded stuff. I can help plant trees.  I can vote for leaders who take climate change seriously.  The list goes on and on.

God, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.  Amen.

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