Honoring the First Word of God

The International Forest of Friendship in Atchison, Ks., includes trees representing all fifty states and more than 35 countries. The tree of my home state, Kansas, is the cottonwood; we also have a state flower (sunflower), bird (western meadowlark), animal (American buffalo), insect (honeybee), reptile (ornate box turtle), soil (Harney silt loam), amphibian (barred tiger salamander), grass (little bluestem), rock (greenhorn limestone), mineral (galena), gemstone (jelinite), fish (channel catfish), and red and white wine grape (chambourcin and vignoles, respectively).

The natural world creates a home for us; it centers us, helps us know who we are, and nurtures us. The old saying “Home is where the heart is” rings true, because for many of us, our heart can be found in the mountains, at the ocean, in the forest, or on the plains.

As we enter the Season of Creation today, I’m reminded of a line from a poem by W.H. Auden: “We must love one another or die.” Typically by “one another” we think of other people, but as we are seeing the consequences of using up the earth’s resources and polluting the air, water, and soil, it’s time to extend our concept of “one another” to animals, insects, fish, and plants. We must love all forms of life on earth or die, for as Chief Seattle said, “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”

Although the environmental challenges facing us are daunting, we can start by learning to love and be grateful for what is in our own back yard — the trees that provide oxygen and shade, the bees that pollinate our food, the flowers that delight our eyes. Our appreciation will lead to the desire to nurture the life around us, and in doing so, we will nurture ourselves and honor the first divine revelation, the first Word of God: creation.