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| "When you realize 'Heart' and 'Earth' are spelled with the same letters, it all starts to make sense." - Anon |
"Inter-being" is a term coined by Thich Nhat Hahn, a revered Vietnamese Buddhist monk that was once nominated by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr for the Nobel Peace Prize.
It means that because of this, there is that. And without this, there cannot be that. It's also referred to as "co-dependant arising".
We in the West, and especially in America, have a strong cultural ethos of Rugged Individualism and Independence. Our story goes that we can pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, and that we need not rely on anyone but ourself. But this is just another myth, which is crystal clear with just a little discernment.
Without a healthy Earth, we cannot be healthy. This is where our food comes from, where the water we drink and the air we breathe originate. Without a healthy ecosystem, humans cannot thrive, and will not survive for long.
Similarly, our actions, individually and collectively, determine the fate of the Earth. If we perform unsustainable activities, that by definition don't allow the Earth to recover and regenerate, then we will damage the Earth and its ability to support us. Every action we take has consequences. The car we drive (or choosing to walk), the food we eat (and how it is grown or raised), the source of our energy (and whether it is limited or renewable, polluting or clean, damaging to the environment when extracted or passively collected), etc.
Every action we take has an impact on the health of the Earth, which has an impact on our own health. We are, in fact, literally interdependent. And we each have in impact -- healthy or destructive -- on the other. We therefore "inter-are" with the Earth. This becomes more and more clear as we sit quietly, look closely at nature, and contemplate what gave rise to what. In fact ... things just co-arise. "Without this, that cannot exist."
So today, especially on the 50th celebration of Earth Day, spend some quiet time considering your impact upon, and dependance on, our fragile Earth, the varied flora and fauna that have evolved with us over the eons, and see all of the threads that interconnect us. As John Muir noted, this "inter-being" is even bigger than that:
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe" -- John Muir
2 comments:
Wonderful thoughts. Just one minor note, you talk about “damaging the Earth”, which as a statement only makes sense when we consider the Earth as functioning if it’s able to support us and damaged otherwise. Earth is so splendid and dynamic it will go on long after us as it has for long before (have you read of the incredible bacteria that live in acidic nitrogen hot springs.. would highly recommend checking out One Strange Rock on Netflix in honor of the day)
Hi Aneesh, thanks for the visit and the comment.
Yes, I agree with you completely. This isn't an equivalent relationship. As you say, if our damage to the Earth results in our own extinction, the Earth will continue on and some new species will evolve and hopefully do better than us. The current COVID-19 "Great Pause" is also illustrating just how quickly Earth could regenerate without us continually over-exploiting Nature in all its forms.
My point only is that we are inter-dependent on the Earth (for our survival), and the Earth is inter-dependent on us, in that we have a direct affect on the equilibrium of Earth's ecosystem, and thereby on the health of its flora and fauna. We've come to this realization over the past 60 years or so (we appear to be slower learners than we think), causing or contributing to major changes in the Earth's ability to sustain life in general.
Thanks again for the visit, and I look forward to more of your insightful comments!
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