In season seven of the podcast Learning How to See, Brian McLaren and guests explore how different ways of relating to nature can inspire new approaches to reality. McLaren begins:
We see the natural world from different vantage points. For example, a real estate developer might look at a beautiful landscape and think, “Wow, we could make a road, build some housing, and dam this creek. We could create an incredible housing development with a lake. It would be worth a fortune.” A paper manufacturer sees a forested mountainside and thinks about how much lumber and paper he could make from those trees and how much return on investment he could get for leasing that mountainside. Meanwhile, an angler would see in that view a trout stream coming down the mountainside that he’d like to protect. An ecologist might see an endangered species of fish that needs to be preserved. A theologian, depending on his or her background, might see theological justifications for selling that land to the real estate developer or manufacturer, or for preserving it with the angler and ecologist.
Every tree, every meadow, every stream, every wave rolling in on the beach … each of us sees them with different vision. We bring our own different backgrounds, perspectives, needs, interests, desires, and problems to whatever we see. [1]
McLaren uses the language of friendship and respect to describe his own relationship with nature:
Every night we have a little herd of iguanas on our roof, including about a five-foot-long iguana that we’ve nicknamed T-Rex—he’s big, male, and a bright orange color. He’s gotten used to me and I’ve gotten used to him. Of course, if I were to get too close, he would whack me with his tail. But we have a respectful relationship, similarly with a gopher tortoise that has dug its burrow outside my front sidewalk, and some burrowing owls that live in the neighborhood.
I have to respect their space. To me, this kind of respecting of space is a part of friendship. We have a term for people who don’t respect boundaries: We call them narcissists. They’re always impeding and crossing boundaries to take advantage of us. We humans tend to have a narcissistic relationship with our fellow creatures, but there’s an option for generous friendship that creates a kind of reverence, respect, and enjoyment.
I think this is one of our real struggles with the natural world, of which we are a part. We’re so used to being in control of things that when the natural world demands legitimate respect from us, we think it’s being hostile. This is part of our current life curriculum as human beings—to learn appropriate respect after centuries and centuries of domination. It’s parallel to what people with privilege need to learn—whether it’s white privilege, male privilege, or the privilege of the rich. Privileged people are so used to acting in domineering ways that when you ask them to show proper respect, they feel they’re being deprived or persecuted. But this respect is something we need and it’s a matter of survival right now for us to learn it. [2]
References:
[1] Adapted from Brian McLaren, host, Learning How to See, podcast, season 7, ep. 1, “Seeing Nature as an Artist with Christy Berghoef and Thomas Jay Ord,” Center for Action and Contemplation, October 3, 2024. Available as audio download and PDF transcript.
[2] Adapted from Brian McLaren, host, with Corey Wayne and Mike Petrow, Learning How to See, podcast, season 7, ep. 7, “Seeing Nature as a Friend,” Center for Action and Contemplation, December 12, 2024. Available as audio download and PDF transcript.
Image Credit and inspiration: YS Santonii, Untitled (detail), 2023, photo, USA, Unsplash. Click here to enlarge image. We gently receive nature in new ways, perhaps by tenderly touching and gazing to see a new detail.
Story from Our Community:
I have come to value sitting in nature alone, listening to and watching the birds and animals talk, sing, and move. It makes me feel so peaceful. It’s when I feel closest to my higher power. I love observing how connected the animals are—content to be with each other and live instinctively. This inspires me to feel more present in my daily life.
—Lillian M.
