Your natural love is important
There is no question that most human beings love plants, animals, or both.
We love plants: green, lacy canopies, flower-laden meadows, stark branches against pristine, crystal snow-banks, woodlands of emerald sprawl along rivers and lakes, cathedral forests of silent, sacred quiet.
We love animals: Our goofy, ridiculous dogs, our gorgeous, precocious cats, the slow circling hawks and eagles, the nibbling chipmunk, the tiny wrens, the warbling songbirds, the beautiful and majestic bears, wolves, elephants, orcas, and so much more.
When we see an unexpected plant or animal, we are drawn to it. We have a natural attraction. These days, we also may have anxiety and insecurity, wondering “Will this miracle be here in 100 years?”
Do not despair. Know your love of life will give you purpose to protect it.
Mental health requires meaning
Not loving plants and animals is a clue we look for in psychopathy, depression, addiction, and many other mental health symptoms found in people who have lost their way.
Immersion in nature, is a proven cure and healing medicine.
Biologists, sociologists, psychologists and non-scientists alike know of our biophilia, our natural love for biological ecosystems. Biology is a magnet for our eyes, a soothing balm for our psyches, a reminder of our DNA-based belonging, a reassurance that food and water will be created by such, and a reliable distraction from woes of the world.
Strangely, we often forget, or take for granted, how very, very precious our attractions, web-strings, or, life-lines really are. I call these strings “Selene Allures,” That is, like the moon, they have a powerful hold on us. They influence our life-cycles. They, also — like the moon — inspire our loves, romances, reproduction, and our arts, music, poetry, dance, and literature.
In short, they are everything.
Next time you are near a lovely landscape, note the seasons, buds, blooms, grasses, trees, light, shadow, breezes, scents, shapes, sizes, temperatures, starkness or fullness.
Take a moment the next time you see an unexpected animal that crosses your human path. Regard that he or she has a life. A whole and complete life, like your own.
A living being does not cease to exist when you forget them, so don’t forget them.
She, or he, has a family, a worldly struggle to survive, needs, fears, and for some, even sentient thoughts — or at least instincts — about how precious life really is. Regard the environment in which they dwell, isn’t is remarkable how so many elements, weather, water, sunlight, trees, grasses, insects, sounds, senses, and so on, come together to set this Selene Allure against the backdrop of your life?
For just a moment, draw that existence to the forefront.
When you go to sleep at night, remember them. Remember we need to love and protect all that enriches life with variety, fecundity, practical economy (air, water, soil, food, livelihood), and inspiration. You will find yourself wondering, from time to time, “I wonder what/where/how/ that creek, critter, woodland, or wild creature, organism, beauty, is doing?”
Remember their gifts to your life. Remember your gifts to their lives.
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This post was previously published on Greener Together.
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Photo credit: Unsplash
