Rabu, 31 Mei 2006

the continuing miracle


"The miraculous is not extraordinary but the common mode of existence. It is our daily bread. Whoever really has considered the lilies of the field or the birds of the air and pondered the improbability of their existence in this warm world within the cold and empty stellar distances will hardly balk at the turning of water into wine - which was, after all, a very small miracle. We forget the greater and still continuing miracle by which water (with soil and sunlight) is turned into grapes."
-- Wendell Berry

It was said once that we should live with the next seven generations in mind. This is called Mindfulness in other cultures.

If all of creation is sacred, why are we turning away from the stewardship of what we inherited?

The photo is an Upper Peninsula, Michigan stream that is the last home to the unique Coaster Brook Trout. We will over time assuredly pollute this stream with the mining (de)regulations that our fine Michigan legislature have devised, and though neither you or I profit from this mine, our world and our grandchildren's world will be a tiny trout less than what it once was.

Should you care about a trout that you will never see?

Ecology means the 'web of life', that all nature is connected; and the health of the huge system is dependent on health of the tiniest part of it. That trout is part of a stream ecosystem, which is part of the ecosystem of Lake Superior, which is part of the ecosystem of the Great Lakes, and beyond.

What can we do if our leadership is beholden to "other values"?

If you want to see how your legislator votes on environmental issues, check this link to the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. There you will find a downloadable report card with lots of information, and you can decide if it is important to you to be a steward of the earth. You can choose to vote for your seventh generation.
We really don't have anywhere else to go, so why don't we take care of the place we live?