From Microbes to Human Beings

All Life—Same Breath

“All things share the same breath—the beast, the tree, the man. The air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.”

Chief Seattle

An article titled “Sentience” appeared in the Parabola magazine in the summer of 2019, and before that in Julie J. Morley's book Future Sacred. In it, Morley lays out the case for the sentience of all life, which was a known fact to the tribal people who inhabited this continent before white people came. All living things, from grasses to humans, were considered part of the essential web, the sacred material. Without science to inform them, native people understood that all things have equal standing in the cosmic exchange. Now, we know just how right they were.

One of the ways we know this is that we've discovered communication systems in everything from bacteria to human beings. Whether chemical, or vocal, or through vibrations, this planet is literally thrumming with information exchanged from life to life, from species to species. Birds do it, insects do it, octopuses and squid do it, wolves and coyotes do it, cells inside our bodies, cells in our soil, trees and even the lichen that grows on them do it—they communicate with one another—therefore they are sentient. And not only do they communicate, but they speak about specifics—about location, about mating and food sources, about territory and energy requirements, and danger. Right now, for instance, Starlings are migrating through my area, and great clouds of them rise and fall. Whether on the ground or in the trees or in the air, they are in constant communication. Sometimes their language is so loud it drowns out all other noise in the neighborhood.

In my worldview, this is the conclusion we must come to if we want to remain in a state of equilibrium on the third planet from the sun: All life deserves to continue as much as human life does. We must understand our interconnections and our interdependence or all life on this planet will be irredeemably changed—and perhaps lost. For me, climate change and degradation of the earth are the overarching existential threats that affects us all, and the subject that I will return to over and over as the new year and new decade unfold. Not because of my politics, and not because I am a “bleeding-heart-liberal,” but because I believe in the sacredness of all creation...equally. You are free to disagree, but I hope you will join me.

                                                          In the Spirit,

                                                               Jane