Episode Notes

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Episode text:

Belonging. Connection. We seek it, we talk about it, we long for belonging.

What does it mean to belong somewhere?

You are made from this world. You are. I am. We are. They are, no matter which “they” you are thinking of. If they are alive, living on this Earth, or ever were or will be: they are made from this world. Same as you or me.

And this world, what is it made from? Stars. Elements forged in dying stars and flung across the depths of space. Organic molecules that have been coming together in new and different combinations for millions of years. People sometimes talk about the desire to be part of something greater than yourself, and describe this as what drives humans to identify with groups, cultures, nations. But we are always already part of something greater than ourselves, and it is also greater than the human world alone.

Now, it also includes the human world, so let me talk about that for just a second. Because it’s a mess. And I want to reassure you that I’m not here for the version of this sentiment that boils down to, don’t worry about what’s happening in the human world, because it’s not important in the grand scheme of things. I mean, ok, in the cosmic scheme of things, the universe is going to keep on universing no matter what happens on our lovely little spinning rock circling one star on the edge of one spiral arm of one galaxy. But you and I don’t operate at that cosmic level; we’re a lot more local than that. So what happens here matters to us, because…we are matter. We are part of the matter of this place—and because of that, I don’t believe we can separate the “spiritual” from the “physical,” and neither can we separate the “human” and the “natural.”

And when we have deep, distressing violations of human dignity…well, pretty much everywhere we look, we don’t need to separate it from ecological devastation or climate disruption. We don’t need to decide one side of that coin isn’t as important as the other. These are all reflections of the same deep misunderstanding of our place in the world. Let’s call it a misalignment with life, resulting in cruelty, oppression, exploitation of…everything. Of everyone. And just when we need to become more aware, to feel what is going on and take action, the very concept of reality is crumbling, replaced by lies, simulation, and manipulation. We need to ground ourselves in the real world, if we want any chance of finding a better way to live together on this planet.

So when I talk about being connected to Nature, or being interdependent with everything in the world, it’s not an abstraction. It’s not a metaphor. It’s not an ideal. It’s a simple fact - you take in sustenance from the world. You eat food that was grown in its soil, drink water that has circulated in endless cycles around the globe. You connect, you interlock with other beings, human and non-human, all the time. You are part of something greater than yourself. You just…are.

So, right where you are, take a breath. Just, take a breath. Feel that interchange of air molecules, of moisture, coming into your lungs, mixing with your blood. And then flowing back out, into the atmosphere around you. The atmosphere that connects all of us, that forms this thin skin of breath around the planet. Then do it again. Take another breath.

This is one example of the interlocking relationships that we are part of all the time.

And once you’ve (hopefully) touched in with that broader, world-wide connection that you’re a part of, bring your attention back to the human part of that world. You might start just by remembering that, as you feel that connectedness through your breath, through your food, through what comes in through your senses, other people feel that, too. Other people are connected to the same systems that you are connecting to right now. They’re connected to you. You are connected to them. And if you think about anything in your life — the food you eat, the clothes you wear, the house you live in — other people were involved in some aspect of those inputs into your life. Other hands have produced these things, have transported these things, have packaged them, have sold them to you, will take their remains from you when you no longer need them. If you are listening to this, you are hearing my voice through a device that required a global economy to produce. An economy that is deeply interconnected with the non-human systems and communities of the Earth, as much as the human.

So again, there is no either-or here; the human world matters, AND it is part of a bigger web of relationships that need to be acknowledged and respected. If all we do is treat those relationships as objects to make use of, is it any wonder we start to treat other humans that way, too? Getting outside of our individual concerns to see ourselves instead as microcosms of that web of relationships could start to shift how we see each other, too. I believe we need to make that shift if we want any chance of changing the systems of oppression that are currently embedded in too many of those relationships.

And I’m going to leave it there for today. There will be much more to come, building on these ideas, adding to them, and seeing what arises. In the meantime, remember those connections. Remember who you are, and that you belong on this Earth.

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