The Gift of Stability

An important aspect of wisdom is the humility that comes with understanding that other other forms of life have their own wisdom that we need to acknowledge and respect. Humans came along relatively late in the history of the universe, and it shows in the crude way we often go about solving problems. For example, when we needed a source of energy, we created internal combustion—basically, heating things up and smashing them together—which is a very inefficient process. Nature, on the other hand, uses natural sources of energy such as wind to get from place to place efficiently.

Janine Benyus, a naturalist who studies the lessons that the plants and animals can teach humans, notes that ecosystems have three stages. The first species are weeds, which put all their energy into seeds and little into roots, because next year those seeds are going to blow away and seed other fields (think of the gyrovagues that St. Benedict describes in his Rule). Next come perennial plants that put down roots but are rather weak and tempera-mental (sarabaites). Finally, we get a mature forest that will last hundreds of years (cenobites). Instead of going from open field to open field, Benyus notes that the mature forest/person learns to “live in one place, recycle everything, and develop symbiotic relationships. The forest learns to adapt, because it’s not going anywhere…it makes the most of limited resources and develops cooperative relationships.”

Benedictines have been practicing stability, simplicity, and the development of cooperative relationships (with other people and with God) for more than 1500 years. These skills are going to be in great demand in the coming years as humans come to grips with being a large population in a crowded world with limited resources. We need to continue to learn from our much older and wiser plant and animal cousins in creation and give the human family hope by showing that the practice of stability, simplicity, and community is not only possible but fruitful and a source of peace for ourselves and the world.