Create Order Out Of Chaos, The Greatest Gift Of Your Life
At first glance, nature sometimes appears chaotic, random, and even crazy. At times, your life will feel that way too. Acceptance is often recommended for those moments of your life when you need to take a deep breath, tune in to your senses, the present, and mindfulness.
In ecopsychology, there is one more gift beyond these reminders to help you really thrive. It is the gift of nature, her presence, and her actual order. Nature’s order took quite a while for human beings to decipher, but upon inventing science, objective viewing of reality became possible. No, science is not perfect — it is a human endeavor after all — but modern science is simply the greatest tool we have for comprehending who we are, why we are here, what you really need, and how to get it.
Seek out a flower that looks like a star. That miracle among the leaves of grass can show you the truth about your life, and all life. It is order out of chaos. It is beauty out of confusion.
The greatest lesson is that your life is not “a life.” There is no “a life.” Everything in the universe is woven into everything else. Most of the cells of your body are not human cells. The moments of your days do not belong to you, either. You breathe because plants create oxygen. You eat and digest because other life forms nourish you. You have thoughts because synapses in your brain fire chemical messages, far more unconsciously than not. Even your thoughts are not your own, they are messages on automatic pilot that you are not aware of most of the time. You are, in fact a creation of nature, that is entirely inter-dependent upon all the other woven in systems of Earth’s shared DNA, a rolling fire-ball in the sky, the hydro-logical cycle that allows the more than 70% of your body that is water, is in constant flow in and out of your body.
You are a gift of life itself. Cherish that, own it, accept it, and your so-called-life can be led in a manner that allows belonging. “Belonging” is just another word to describe the greatest gift you have. Belonging to Earth means whether you call your existence the creation, (or by the God of your choice if you need one) the Creator, you belong. That is amazing and wondrous. It means you are never alone, once you understand it.
It means our constant conflict, strife and stress emerge from a hubristic view that has been proven false. That view assumed Earth belonged to us. It told us believers could oppress non-believers with impunity. It said the assumed blessed could also control the planet for our own presumed well-being. Oppression and exploitation drove our history, but now we know better and can choose to do better. When humans saw themselves as the center of the creation, they were bound by strict hierarchy that said top down management is the only way there is. It is not.
We can use that knowledge by being present, being aware, and being united to expand a circle of compassion to include those we once viewed as competitors to be kin.
Bruno, Galileo, and Darwin, among other brilliant thinkers, wrapped this gift up for us in a method of inquiry that gave us both spiritual and scientific ways to understand our own being. Thinkers found not only are we not the center of the universe, we are stuff of the stars, consciously seeing ourselves for the very first time.
You are star stuff, says the flower. You are symmetrical, alive, and part of a rich tapestry of being that we have all learned just in time to save ourselves.
Some people will point out that nature is spelling our doom. Our destruction of other species and even ourselves on the planet displays hopelessness. Yet, just one lunch time break in the woods, meadow, or along a river or lake shatters that gloom. Listen carefully to the hopeful, and powerful, voice of the Earth. Hear.
Work enough. Play enough. Go online and offline enough. Sleep enough. Think enough. Feel enough. Share enough. Love enough. And, you will be enough.
Ecopsychology, science and nature conspire to show you in very, very real ways, that there is still time for our species. We hold the keys. We make the choices. We can learn resilience, sustainability and truth. Do not fall victim to false prophets or profits. Note that suffering largely comes from an ancient and false ideology that says we must constantly defeat those others that threaten us, we must control the planet for resources and domination. But, newsflash, it turns out neither race, sex, or religion determines that some are better than others.
The USA recently pulled out of the monumental Paris Climate Accord that brought almost every nation together to celebrate, protect and nurture our own lives by aligning with life itself. Trump’s failure to grasp our belonging to a planet that does not see borders is negative. But, this does not mean that you are helpless. It just means we need to follow nature’s approach, bottom up grass roots growing, green cities, community building, with a new view of cooperation, reverence and love.
Our natural power tells us we are the first people in history to be offered the chance to re-align with the natural, foundational principles that create our life. We, truly can “Make Earth Great Again.”
Gather everyone you love, every day that you can. Realize that you belong, that you can use your own sense and senses. You are alive. You can give your life meaning and determination. You can join the rest of the entire world working for both your own livelihood (please note the root of that word) your own family, friends, food, water, and survival, and know that always, when you align with nature, the entire Cosmos is on your side.
Please share by clicking on the heart,highlighting or commenting, Thank You fellow Earthlings!, Christyl Rivers