Rise out of the bog

George G Clark, 2 November 2009

Today there is a feeling of being bogged down, of not seeing the big picture. But the big picture has at least two dimensions - intellectual (objective knowing) and intuitive (subjective feeling).

Think of biogeochemical cycles[1] - eg for water, carbon, nitrogen, etc. These restless flows of stuff can be intellectually studied but they can also be emotionally appreciated. They can be talked about using the cold 'it' language of science but they can also resonate numinously with 'intimations of immortality' and thus infuse the soul with the hallowed sense of Oneness. The 'interconnectedness' of Ecology sits easily with the 'interbeing' of Buddhism.

The other day, while passing some robustly healthy potato stems and leaves, there was a sudden, if brief, burst of numinous wonder. There was a sense of awe at the plant process of sucking in air, water and dung and using the energy of sunlight to transform them into roots, stems, and leaves; and then into flowers and fruits with seeds. And all around were other plants working their variations on the theme. Restless, dynamic churn in a constantly evolving complex system that had no boss or blueprint. An impression was made and it stuck.

Recalling the insight helps me rise out of the bog.

 

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[1]  "Although the Earth constantly receives more light from the sun, it has only the chemicals from which it originally formed ... Because chemicals operate on a closed system and cannot be lost and replenished the way energy can, these chemicals must be recycled throughout all of Earth's processes that use those chemicals or elements. These cycles include both the living biosphere and the nonliving lithosphere (land), atmosphere (air), and hydrosphere (water)." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biogeochemical_cycles