You and Earth "Inter-Are"

"When you realize 'Heart' and 'Earth' are spelled with
 the same letters, it all starts to make sense." - Anon

What the heck does that mean?  Well it kind of means interdependent, and I know that sounds like new-age mumbo-jumbo feel-goodiness, but stay with me for a moment.

"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