Judith Valente's Blog: Mindfulness in the Age of Twitter - Posts Tagged "pollination"
Cultivating “A Culture of Care”
I am sitting on the porch of a cabin in the woods, observing the insect drama unfolding at my feet. Large black ants, iridescent green beetles, and a diverse group of arachnids rush back and forth. They remind me of pedestrians in midtown Manhattan scurrying to their offices during morning rush hour. Sometimes like crowded New Yorkers, the bugs bump into each other, briefly pause, and move on.
University of Delaware ecologist Douglas Tallamy recently spoke in my community. Our first instinct, he noted, is to either swat away insects, or else kill them outright. In doing so, we destroy some of nature’s most important agents. Insects pollinate the plants and flowers we admire. They provide food for the birds whose songs we enjoy. Pesticides are largely responsible for killing off about 45 percent of the insect species that once existed. As the biologist Rachel Carson proved in her groundbreaking work, “Silent Spring,” the loss of even one inspect species has a ripple effect on many other creatures.
Globally, scientists have identified 925,000 species of insects. These tiny creatures remind us that we humans represent only a small number of the earth’s family. Pope Francis has called on Americans to foster a “culture of care:” care for oneself, care for others, and care for the planet he calls “our common home.” More than 1,500 years ago, The Rule of St. Benedict urged people living in monasteries to “regard all utensils and goods of the monastery as sacred vessels of the altar, aware that nothing is to be neglected.” Nothing is to be neglected. Our planet is like a well-calibrated watch where the malfunction of one part affects all the rest.
This week, can we commit to doing one act a day that shows care for our “common home?” Maybe we gather our groceries in a reusable bag. Perhaps we drop off our newspapers and plastic bottles at a recycle bin. Maybe we let some harmless spider live.
University of Delaware ecologist Douglas Tallamy recently spoke in my community. Our first instinct, he noted, is to either swat away insects, or else kill them outright. In doing so, we destroy some of nature’s most important agents. Insects pollinate the plants and flowers we admire. They provide food for the birds whose songs we enjoy. Pesticides are largely responsible for killing off about 45 percent of the insect species that once existed. As the biologist Rachel Carson proved in her groundbreaking work, “Silent Spring,” the loss of even one inspect species has a ripple effect on many other creatures.
Globally, scientists have identified 925,000 species of insects. These tiny creatures remind us that we humans represent only a small number of the earth’s family. Pope Francis has called on Americans to foster a “culture of care:” care for oneself, care for others, and care for the planet he calls “our common home.” More than 1,500 years ago, The Rule of St. Benedict urged people living in monasteries to “regard all utensils and goods of the monastery as sacred vessels of the altar, aware that nothing is to be neglected.” Nothing is to be neglected. Our planet is like a well-calibrated watch where the malfunction of one part affects all the rest.
This week, can we commit to doing one act a day that shows care for our “common home?” Maybe we gather our groceries in a reusable bag. Perhaps we drop off our newspapers and plastic bottles at a recycle bin. Maybe we let some harmless spider live.
Mindfulness in the Age of Twitter
In my blog, I focus on thoughts based on my new book (published from Hampton Roads) How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning & Community as well as from my previ
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