Living
World
“The
notion of I and Thou, discerned by the philosopher Martin Buber,
holds that God only appears in the unrehearsed, authentic dialog
between two living centers...when we meet others as equal living
beings, each with their own center, then we live out the I and Thou
relationship, through which the Mystery manifests as a vital
life-force between us.”
Mark Nepo
(“Eight World Views and Practices,” Parabola, Winter 2018-2019,
p.13)
One of the many pleasures
of living a human lifetime is being able to enter into authentic
conversation with others of our species. Like ants meeting on a food
trail, it provides the infusion of energy that keeps us moving in the
right direction. For those of us who do not have mates or
house-mates, engaging conversation becomes even more important. It is
a life-line that keeps us connected to the world. I and Thou is a way
of describing the relationship that is foundational to meaningful
connection. If I am the central figure in my cosmos, and everyone
else is seen as an extension of me, or only important as they relate
to me and the fulfillment of my interests and needs, then the
relationship looks more like I and It. If, on the other hand, I see
you as my equal, and am genuinely interested in you and your life,
then we will have a fulsome mutual encounter.
The same sort of
conversation can be had with other living beings. Mary Oliver was a
perfect example of that. From early childhood, her deepest soul-connections were found in the natural world. In the living plants and
animals that she encountered on her forays into forests and along
shorelines, she found kindred spirits. We do this everyday with our
pets. We know from a look what they want or need. They may not speak
aloud, but we become so connected that we need no spoken words
between us. Language is so much more than words.
When I studied with
a Lakota Sioux shaman back in the 90's, we spent half of every day
listening to other living beings—the plants, rocks, streams and
animals of whatever environment we were in. We learned to ask
questions, and expect answers and we always received them. I remember
reading about American Indians who could put their ear to the ground
and hear when a bison heard had passed by, and where they had gone.
We can make a connection with any life form and with the earth itself
simply because we are made of the same elements and energies. Those
elements and energies translate into impressions that
form words in our brains.
When we are deprived of
one of our senses, such forms of communication become even more
important. For instance, there is a vision center here that teaches
people who have lost their sight how to safely traverse their
environment using a white cane. They walk with the tip of the cane
sweeping back and forth in front of them, reading the ground and
communicating back where obstacles and changes in elevation are. This
is a language and connection with the earth, communicated through the
cane, that has life-enhancing importance for them.
When we change our
perspective and give other living entities equal importance, when we
understand that they can and do communicate, we find ourselves in a
living, breathing world filled with the Mystery of creation. It is
suddenly a world alive, and we are alive in it in a new and profound
way.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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