Welcome to Tuesday and our feature on nature as a window into the divine with a reflection based on the writing of Carl Safina, this time from his latest, Becoming Wild.
The Sarum Prayer
God be in my head—and in my understanding
God be in my eyes—and in my looking
God be in my mouth—and in my speaking
God be in my heart—and in my thinking
God be at my end—and at my departing
Wisdom of Jesus Portion
John 5: 19
Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.”
Reflection Based on the Writings of Carl Safina
In Becoming Wild, Carl Safina explores the mysteries or beauty and culture. For example, how is that we seem to share a sense of what is beautiful not only within our own species, but also, often, with other species? Within a given animal culture, how does the sense of what is beautiful coalesce around certain things and not others?
It turns out that animals are prone to imitate each other. And not just by copying gestures and external behaviors, but in what René Girard called mimetic desire.
Safina writes: “Animals are often attracted to what they see other animals attracted to. This means that what an animal sees as attractive is also subject to cultural influence and social learning. If that seems subtle, don’t be fooled. It’s the big show-stopping dance number, with implications that reverberate across Life, through time, and to the far horizons.
It’s obviously true for us humans that we’re attracted to what we see others attracted to. Turns out, the social power of mere preference is astonishingly widespread. Female guppies like brightly colored males, but they can learn to like drab males if they observe many females mating with them…This tendency to ‘mate with someone who looks like the one you’ve seen others mate with’ has been documented in fish called mollies; It’s even been documented in fruit flies.” (Becoming Wild, 188–189)
We share big stretches of our DNA code with things like lettuce and fruit flies. Imitative desire is a truth about ourselves that we prefer not to face, but the advertising industry knows better. It runs deep in our DNA.
Sometimes imitative desire drives what we would call evil. Someone in a crowd starts chanting “lock her up!” and soon everyone is joining in. It’s how crowds can turn into mobs, imitative desire. But it can also work for good. I grew up in Detroit, with lots of time outdoors, but with very little exposure to the wild. Camping was a stretch. I thought farmland was what “nature” looked like. OK, I’ve been to Yosemite and been awestruck. But my experience of the wild is impoverished. And yet, through the writings Carl Safina and others who love the wild, I mean really love the wild, and the creatures who make their home there, I have come to love it too, by imitative desire. For which I am thankful. In this case, I know the world better, thanks to imitative desire.
Meditation: Sounds of the Rainforest
For our meditation, as you listen to the sounds of the rainforest in the background, let your mind drift to any experience of creatures with whom we humans share this glorious planet. Do any particular creatures whose presence delights you come to mind? What do they like that you could like better by imitative desire? Maybe it’s your dog, who gets all excited when you come home—maybe your dog’s desire could help you like yourself better. Or maybe it’s the birds who seem to treat every new morning like a celebration event. Maybe they could help you take delight in a new day, even before your morning coffee. Over the next minute let your mind wander into the realm of imitative desire, to awaken your own attractions to the manifold wonders of this world.
Prayer to the Spirit
Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives of creatures,
spiral of sanctity, bond of all natures,
glow of charity, lights of clarity, taste
of sweetness to sinners, be with us and hear us.
—Hildegard of Bingen, 12th century nun, writer, composer, mystic, visionary, polymath, regarded by many as a founder of scientific natural history in Europe.
Prayer for Loved Ones
Over the next minute simply name your loved ones (of whatever species) calling each to mind in love, lifting each in the embrace of remembered love, to the Source of All Being.
Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Benediction
So have a blessed day, go in peace, wash your hands, love your neighbor: you are not alone.