Wednesday was Earth Day, the annual event on April 22 to support environmental protection. It is commemorated throughout the world and an estimated 1 billion people take part in Earth Day events every year.
Earth Day is about environmental protection, and it is also about being aware of nature.
For many, this event seems to be a secular concern. What might be religious about environmental protection? But what issue of importance is not a theological or philosophical concern?
There are theological and philosophical bases for caring for the natural world in many religious traditions. That which affects the natural world will eventually affect the human world as well.
Humans in many cultures make the distinction between humanity and the natural world. Nature often is considered as something apart from our existence. Yet humans rely on the natural world for everything that we create, everything that we do.
We rely on nature for chemical processes that make our lives possible. The oceans and the great forests provide most of the air that we breath. So much farming still relies on bees.
There are many ways that we rely on nature, but we are often unaware of how nature affects our lives. Understanding the depths of those connections are difficult and beyond the ability of those of us not engaged in the natural sciences.
However, even those of us without that that kind of education can perceive that the earth is changing. Global warming is affecting the earth. Ice is melting in the northern and southern poles. Weather patterns are becoming erratic due to these changes. We experience them when the temperatures in our area are not the way that they have been for generations. How might we deal this environmental change? What might we do to gain an awareness of nature?
It seems likely that many of us have not had much experience with the natural realm. For many, encounters with animals or woodlands or desert have been infrequent moments. To care about the earth, it helps to have a relationship with nature. This kind of experience fosters connection with nature and, sometimes, with God.
When I was a young man living in a place like the Lehigh Valley, I took day-long hikes in the mountains and hills near the city where I lived. After months doing that every Saturday, I noticed a change in my being. As I walked the mountain trails, I let go of myself in the trees and in the sound of birds. I felt merged into the woods and connected to the gurgling stream and the streams of light.
Though I was not particularly religious in a conventional way, I realized that I was in prayer. That connection with God eventually led me into the ministry.
Others from our culture’s past had similar experiences. To Francis of Assisi are attributed many words that demonstrate his relationship with God and nature. He wrote of the elements as being like spirits with Brother Sun, Sister Moon and Mother Earth. He connected God with the natural world and with humanity.
Closer to my Unitarian Universalist tradition, Ralph Waldo Emerson also found sustenance through his relationship with nature. He wrote about this spiritual connection in his essay entitled, “Nature”: “In the woods, we return to reason and faith.”
For Emerson, returning to the natural world in the forests, meant connection with God. Ultimately, preserving the earth will require a different way of thinking, systems that encourage environmental preservation as a priority. This is a shared endeavor for humanity and may be spiritually nourishing. In nature, one may become aware of connections and value all life.
Perhaps, the way to ensure the health of our planet and our shared humanity begins with a prayerful walk in the woods.
This is a contributed opinion column. The Rev. Larry Smith is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley. He can be reached at: minister@uuclvpa.org.The views expressed in this piece are those of its individual author, and should not be interpreted as reflecting the views of this publication.