The Human Touch....
The more I explore humanity's relationship with nature, the more I feel we have a special role in how things play out.
Whether we were somehow "assigned" this task, or took the mantle upon ourselves, I can't say. Nonetheless it increasingly appears to me something we can do.
I refer in particular to the animal organisms with which we share the world, physical incarnation, and at least some level of a similar conscious awareness. Our connections with them appears to have (at least in potential) a special character.
I imagine few folks who are likely to read this blog will be completely unfamiliar with the common themes and videos of "unlikely animal friends", YouTube and other venues have many examples of such.
A common feature of the majority of these relationships is that they arise within a human created and facilitated environment: a home, a farm, a zoo; many, if not most, of these would be very unlikely to arise outside of a such a situation.
Species that in nature would rarely, if ever, interact are brought together in a common environment where their basic needs (food, shelter, protection from predators) are being addressed by an outside agent (humans).
Thus they are able to respond out of their natural impulses rather than the urgency of fear or the demands of survival, which leads to some remarkable interactions among species that would have been considered "natural enemies", or competition outside of the human mediated environment.
When basic needs are addressed and fear is overcome, trust wins and curiosity, playfulness and love appear to be the norm for most species with any significant amount of cognitive processing ability.
Even species we normally think of as not capable of anything beyond the basics of killing and eating appear to have more going for them in this way than we supposed historically. Witness the work of "Shark Whisperer" Cristina Zenato.
Lest someone get me wrong: I'm not advocating vegetarianism by all this. I have been and remain an omnivore.
I do believe that we should be far more cognizant, appreciative, and respectful of the role played by other living organisms, among which I emphatically include plants (and perhaps even minerals), in providing our sustenance.
The take away for me is: In the absence of want and fear, Love wins.
Removing want and fear: I can't but imagine folks reading this blog
will no doubt recognize the implications for how we treat one another other as well.
Whether we were somehow "assigned" this task, or took the mantle upon ourselves, I can't say. Nonetheless it increasingly appears to me something we can do.
I imagine few folks who are likely to read this blog will be completely unfamiliar with the common themes and videos of "unlikely animal friends", YouTube and other venues have many examples of such.
A common feature of the majority of these relationships is that they arise within a human created and facilitated environment: a home, a farm, a zoo; many, if not most, of these would be very unlikely to arise outside of a such a situation.
Species that in nature would rarely, if ever, interact are brought together in a common environment where their basic needs (food, shelter, protection from predators) are being addressed by an outside agent (humans).
Thus they are able to respond out of their natural impulses rather than the urgency of fear or the demands of survival, which leads to some remarkable interactions among species that would have been considered "natural enemies", or competition outside of the human mediated environment.
When basic needs are addressed and fear is overcome, trust wins and curiosity, playfulness and love appear to be the norm for most species with any significant amount of cognitive processing ability.
Even species we normally think of as not capable of anything beyond the basics of killing and eating appear to have more going for them in this way than we supposed historically. Witness the work of "Shark Whisperer" Cristina Zenato.
Lest someone get me wrong: I'm not advocating vegetarianism by all this. I have been and remain an omnivore.
I do believe that we should be far more cognizant, appreciative, and respectful of the role played by other living organisms, among which I emphatically include plants (and perhaps even minerals), in providing our sustenance.
The take away for me is: In the absence of want and fear, Love wins.
Removing want and fear: I can't but imagine folks reading this blog
will no doubt recognize the implications for how we treat one another other as well.
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