An Ecological Spirituality

The immense majority of human beings today relate to the natural environment as dominator or exploiter, with an attitude of using the environment for their own needs. The goal is "development," at any cost. Corporate concern for environmental problems -- pollution, energy resources, forest conservation, etc. -- is little more than fear of self-destruction. There is no appreciation of the mystery or truth of life itself. Ecology has been "de-spiritualized," and reverence for life and all of its manifestations has been minimized.

We need to search for a way to renew the natural environment, renewing the way that we live in nature. We should not see ourselves as absolute masters but as responsible human beings maintaining harmonious relationships with the rest of evolving creation. The environment does not "belong" to us. On the contrary, we form an integral part of it. We need to develop this awareness and come to a new relationship among ourselves. Everything that we do has an impact on the world, and all that happens in the world has an impact on us.

Many religious traditions offer an entire spirituality based on an appreciation for life as a gift from God, fostering attitudes of gratitude and care for creation. In fact, the culture of the Mayans in Guatemala offers a model, worthy of imitation by the rest of the world, for authentic spirituality and reverence for the natural environment.

The Mayan cosmovision is profoundly sensitive and symbolic. A Mayan campesino will ask permission of Mother Earth to cause a wound in her body in order to plough a furrow and plant crops. That same campesino will ask permission of Mother Earth before cutting off the branch of a tree. The Mayan people give thanks to Mother Earth and the Heart of Heaven for the benefits they extract from the natural environment.

This is not simply a cultural ritual but a profound commitment to life. It is an example of deep respect and awareness of nature in which the mutual interplay among all elements of creation is well-recognized. Both the relationships among persons, as well as the relationship of human beings to the natural environment, are impregnated with respect and the conviction that life is a gift to be cared for and defended. If human beings break this relationship, placing themselves over everything else, they will break the unity of life and bring about the self-destruction of the world.

We need to renew the values that inspire the Mayan culture, values that maintain relationships of respect, community, and mutuality. We need to reintegrate ourselves into nature’s vital system of interrelationships. We need to renew our hope, judging and denouncing actions that are contrary to life. We must work against the rapid deterioration of the environment, the extinction of plants and animal species, the indiscriminate destruction of forest reserves, the contamination caused by toxic wastes, etc. And, in order to propose alternatives and find solutions, we need to consult all the branches of human wisdom.


Source: MysticalPlanet.com's Why? newsletter; excerpt from article by Joaquin Garay, OFM