Green in the Soul

Heaven knows there are plenty of opportunities to make bank on the current "Green Movement." And there are even more consumers charmed by the indisputable stylishness of the eco-friendly lifestyle. But these things don't make me resentful of our increasing environmental awareness. After all, these same impulses taint religion, and I'm not about to turn my back on something that heals and revives just because of a few bad apples. And I do believe that this sudden surge toward greener pastures does heal and revive . . . not simply our planet, but also our perspectives. As Chief of Pray Sue D Pointed out in a comment on my recent blog, "Being the Answer," the most important thing we can do for our world is to focus on the root of the problem, rather than simply patching up a symptom. The more I witness this drive toward eco-consciousness—superficial or not—the more I witness a world shifting toward greater wisdom. I am by no means an eco-superwoman. Captain Planet would be humiliated to have me on his team. I recycle somewhat sporadically, I only remember my reusable shopping bags half the time, and I love to imagine that reading an article on living an eco-conscious lifestyle is the same as actually living one. Even so, with each article I read and each local farmer I purposely buy from, I slowly form a habit. Not simply a habit of taking certain actions, but a habit of thinking certain thoughts. I learn to recognize how much packaging a box of my beloved Nutty Bars contains. I imagine the trucks bringing out-of-season fruit to me from far off places. I think of where my purchases will be in five years, ten years, a hundred years. I remember that everything comes from something, that everything ends up somewhere, and that—for better or for worse—I cannot live on this earth without taking something from it and leaving something behind.

At the risk of sounding super cheesy, I will admit that the growing momentum of the green movement has begun to affect my spiritual life. After all—as I've often said—I believe that prayer is not simply about our relationship with our Higher Power. While the conversation may be private, the effects are public. In prayer, God reminds me of who I am not only to Her, but also to the world. I am a wheel in a much larger machine, and my simplest job is to respect the process of the machine.

As more of my fellow humans begin to embrace a new lifestyle—a lifestyle that demonstrates respect for the world and our roles within it—I begin to feel a sense of fellowship. We're joined together in a movement to honor the Machine . . . to learn to move in compassion and respect, so we never take more than we give or destroy what cannot be recreated.

Different origins, different paths, and different supermarket chains on our reusable shopping bags. But, as always, the same greater purpose.

Machinery

Show me my place today.
Let me see that I am not witnessing this world;
I am part of it.
All of it.

I am not separate from Your air
or Your animals.
I am not separate from Your oceans
or forests.
I am certainly not separate from Your humans.

So open my eyes
and show me the cogs that join us.
Let me witness my own rotation
as a cause of spinning gears.

Teach me at last to sustain and be sustained
with perfect respect
for the machine of Your masterful creation.

-Abigail Wurdeman