Nowadays we are so caught up with global warming, net zero and renewals — the hubris of thinking that human beings know and can do better — we forget what a wonderful teacher NATURE is in its natural state. In my August column in the Sydney Observer magazine, p.15 (https://online.fliphtml5.com/wtpec/mlpq/#p=1), I discussed how nature in helping us experience change, inter-connectedness and renewal gives us hope and a sense of humility and grace, simple but important lessons for the human race.
I write about the renowned Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh’s conversation with the fallen autumn leaves, with the leaves expressing no fear or regrets since it was part of the whole tree, having nourished it in its growth, and now goes back to the soil to nourish the tree for its renewal in spring – a wonderful illustration of inter-connectedness and inter-dependence.
On a personal note, Nhat Hanh’s commentary brought back wonderful memories of my own encounter with interdependence. I have a rose garden, where I would pick roses. I observed myself searching for newly opened roses, ignoring the dead flowers on the ground. In a moment of mindful awareness, I realised that I had lost sight of the fact that the dead flowers came from the rose bush and would go back to nourish it. I had unwittingly judged one component of the whole to be more important or more beautiful than another.
I also write about Catherine, the Princess of Wales sharing how nature helped her to heal after her experience with cancer—“the natural world's capacity to inspire us, to nurture us and help us heal and grow is boundless …."
Interconnectedness and renewal can be difficult to appreciate but essential learnings in our being spiritual. If you observe a deciduous tree and the fallen leaves, you will appreciate the intimate connection with growth, life, death and renewal as Nhat Hanh and the Princess of Wales did. It is a humbling experience.
