Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Conscious Compassion and The Natural World

The olympian orcas arc smoothly in and out of the water, thrilling all in the nearby zodiac, bobbing up and down on the gentle swell, close enough to glimpse the graceful black and white bodies revealing, then concealing themselves beneath the water surface. Out of human sight, they feed on some of the ocean's smaller creatures. The squawking gulls above noisily vie for their share of the spoils.

One cannot help but stand in awe of the natural order that when unimpeded by human interference and greed, seamlessly cycles and evolves. From the tiniest organism to the most majestic animals that populate ocean, air and land, life needs to be taken so that life can be maintained in the 'eat or be eaten' order of the natural world.

What does the human witness feel as an observer? Where is the compassion for the sacrificed individual member of the hunted species who make continuance of the life of the hunter possible? Who does not feel a sense of dread for the hapless seal sunning itself on a floating log as the orcas approach, for the buck being separated from the herd by the hungry pride of lionesses, or the tiny rabbit as the eagle swoops? Without the hunt, predators die. With the hunt, the prey dies. Life and death- those two most mysterious of portals to the world unseen, inextricably connected, one to the other.

As consciousness evolves within the human species, we intuit that perhaps compassion is largely a human trait and one with which we are specifically endowed to bring this loving energy into the Earth's field. It is a right and a responsibility. As we learn to love unconditionally, do we enlivened the arena in which we find ourselves, fulfilling our piece of the puzzle?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Heather,
This is a lovely piece. I'm interested in your work because we seem to share passions. I'm a writer and two of my past books have been about the environment and my latest The Divine Feminine Fire: Creativity and Your Yearning to Express Your Self is, well, clearly about the sacred feminine! Check out www.teridegler.com if you get a chance and lets keep in touch

Unknown said...

Blessings and Namaste' to you this lovely morning!

Thank you for sharing your sacred and highly inspirational art with the world last evening! It was a delight to meet you!

When I awoke before dawn this article of yours shown brightly on my desktop? There are no accidents!

Ironically, it speaks to one of the koans I am pondering: "Even the most enlightened guru steps aside when the tiger charges . . ."

Or do they?

What if the tiger be another person?

What is compassionate action if that person has Alzheimer's?

Does it matter if we are blood related or not? Are we not all related through Spirit?

Again, I enjoyed meeting all of you last evening! I look forward to keeping in touch!

Earth Angel Blessings Always, Sapphire Grace!