Lou Gold wrote:
WILD NATURE
AN ARK FOR THE MILLENNIUMOver one hundred and thirty years ago Henry David Thoreau wrote. "In wildness is the preservation of the world." Evidently he was able to see from Walden Pond in Massachusetts -- which even back then was hardly wild -- that wholeness, health and healing is to be found in the patterns and connections provided by the original gift of the Creator, wildness. But what exactly does this mean?
Wild nature is an immense array of organisms, processes and elements that have been fashioned together in a whole fabric of interdependence and reciprocity. It is a vast communion of energetic exchange capable of sustaining itself based only on air, water and soil. The growth and decay and mineral processing of the organic matter are all that's needed to convert the shine of the sun into a community of life. It's a delicate but powerful balance in which life creates life and upon which life depends. To respect that balance is to nurture life; to disregard it is to court disaster.
When physician-astronaut Story Musgrave the left his capsule and looked back on this small and lovely planet "floating in the velvet void of space", he could only think, "My God it's alive." But his great vision arrived as a mixed blessing. The very technological advances that had put him in space had also been carelessly used by our species to visit untold damage. For the first generation in history, the health and wholeness of this fragile Earth had become dependent on the behavior of human beings. We had acquired an awesome set of tools and with them came the awesome burden of choice -- to heal or to wound would determine the future of a living community of untold numbers of species.
In this last year of the Twentieth Century when we would like to look forward to a vital and vibrant Twenty-first Century, it seems most imperative for us to understand what Thoreau meant by "in wildness is the preservation of the world". I believe that he was simply saying that to preserve the whole we must preserve the fabric that holds together the pieces. It's as if the web of life was like a giant egg and like Humpty Dumpty if it ever fell all the king's horses and all the king's men could not put the pieces together again.
Unfortunately, much has already fallen. To give but one very literal example, half of the natural forests on this planet have fallen in the last half of the Twentieth Century. And vital systems from the microcosm of a small watershed to vast macrocosms like the earth's atmosphere have been destabilized. The grim statistics paint a picture of impending disaster. But within this potentially catastrophic turmoil there are still arks.
Every wild place, no matter how small, is an ark. Not only in the sense of Noah's Ark which carries the genetic material through the torrents of change. But also in the sense of the Ark of the Covenant which contains the understanding of sacred relationship between the Creator and all living things. The traditional wisdom of all peoples of the land teaches that wild nature is much more than a resource to be exploited or a commodity to be sold. It is the garden of harmony -- the teacher of respect and right relationship from which modern life has become separated.
The ark of wild nature is much more than a survivalist alternative and more than the scenic beauty captured by Discovery Channel nature documentaries. It is more than the peak experiences of wilderness adventure, and more than the self-esteem building and group bonding experiences of Outward Bound. As magnificent and meaningful as these experiences are, wild nature is something more.
It calls us to the deepest realization of our own true nature -- the untamed, unmanipulated, unconditioned, non fragmented parts of ourselves from which our own healing and creativity spring forth. Even the most committed urban dweller knows that a 15-minute sit on the local park bench can relieve the tensions and stresses of modern existence. A nap under the local oak can call back one's dreams. And once called back from business as usual, a flower or a sunset can emerge as an invitation to a fuller relationship with all life.
Nature carries us toward connection and reciprocity, toward humility and responsibility, toward diversity and balance. It provides the sacred canopy under which right relationship may flower and grow. It shows us how to return from separation and alienation to the garden of relationship, to life in balance. And if its lessons are learned well, the result is health, wholeness and, indeed, holiness.
People who are confused by stress or who have numbed themselves to the painful separations of contemporary life are likely to be insensitive to the destruction of the natural world. But those who have come into contact with the feel of natural harmony want to preserve wholeness both inwardly and outwardly. More than any other modern therapy or technology, it is the vessel that carries us home. It is the ark that carries us into a fuller realization of our human own nature.
Truly, as Thoreau observed, "In wildness is the preservation of the world."
I think as well of the sensibilities of St. Francis. I look out the window and see that the garden is here -- before my eyes. It's a glorious day. The darkened sky of the recent storms has broken open into a brilliant sunshine flooding everything with its life-giving force. And the forest outside is radiant beyond words.
What I'm seeing with Thoreau of Walden and Francis of Assisi is that the reverence of nature is spiritual conviction made real. And like the returning astronaut we seek a safe return to our earthly and human home.
On the eve of a new millennium we have become painfully aware that our home has been badly wounded. A great deal has already been lost and, in the case of species extinction, the losses are forever. We have the satellite images that graphically reveal untold damage. But the good news, the truly glorious news is that the Earth is alive and wild places still exist. And these remaining wild places are monumental beacons beckoning us back toward a world in balance. Achieving that restored balance is the work of the Twenty-first Century.
The first step is to save what is left.
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