Friday, October 27, 2017

Environmental Spirituality

Sweat and Soul

Scripture reveals that 'in the beginning' God intended humanity to cooperate in the preservation and protection of the natural environment...The earth was entrusted to us as a sublime gift and legacy, for which all of us share responsibility until, 'in the end,' all in heaven and on earth will be restored in Christ (Ephesians 1:10) Our human dignity and welfare are deeply connected to our care for the whole of creation.”
Pope Francis & Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (Joint Statement on World Day of Prayer, 2017)

I'll bet you get tired of my harping about humanity's responsibility for our precious “blue dot.” It's on my mind a lot, especially after the summer and fall we've had with storms, fires and earthquakes. But today, I want include the human body's response to elevated temperatures. As I'm sure you know, when we exercise our body heats up. That triggers the blood to move out from the core of the body to the periphery, to the skin, causing us to sweat. As the sweat evaporates, we cool down. There are other built-in body-preservation systems, too, like when we are too hot, our muscles don't work efficiently and fatigue sets in, forcing us to slow down. But, here's the deal, if the external temperature is hotter than our internal temperature, we have to sweat a lot—like four liters worth—to cool down. Some of us are capable of that and some of us are not—and most of us don't drink sufficient water to keep our blood volume high enough. What happens then is heatstroke!

All of this is to say, that if our earth temperatures continue to rise (yesterday, on October 26, it was in the upper seventies here) sports—like football, baseball, soccer, racing, and marathon running—will become lethal in a whole new way. Now I have your attention, right! Running a marathon at 90+F would be deadly, as would FOOTBALL! Oh, no! At any rate, we humans must begin to take seriously the mandate to preserve and protect our home. I don't mean our house, with semi-automatic weapons; I mean our planet. What was once a garden is now a hot house.

Lest you think this is not a spiritual matter, let me say that all the major religions teach conscientious care of the earth. The Qur'an says that men and women are God's vicegerents on Earth (2:30). God created nature in balance (“al-mizan”) and mankind's responsibility is to maintain this fragile equilibrium. Buddhism teaches that we are not set apart from nature, but are an integral part of it. Nature is not a boundless ocean of resources; our actions have an effect on its health. Hinduism teaches reverence for nature; there are daily mantras in Sanskrit paying homage to rivers, mountains, trees, animals, and earth. Taoism teaches an abiding respect for nature, love of harmony and balance, and living with compassion, frugality, and humility (The Three Treasures) in all things. In other words, all the great spiritual traditions hold us responsible for the care and tending of our environment.

Holy, holy, holy is our earth. Let us give it the care we would give to a beloved child.

                                                                In the Spirit,
                                                                   Jane



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