An important part of empathy is connection. We make a connection with others, whether directly, or through reading or viewing or other means.
What if we connected with more others–not just humans, but other living beings? Animals, certainly. Our home (that is, our planet) would be a much better place if we responded to animals with empathy–our pets who share our lives, farm animals, wild animals, all animals. But let’s push that even further.
I am reading a book titled Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. She has a PhD in botany, and she is also a member of the Great Lakes Potawatomi tribe. For her, as well as for others who are coming to understand that plants are living beings with a social community, via their root systems, and the spores and pollen and other organic compounds that they release into the air. Some people believe that plants make sounds, that they sing. That they respond to music. And so we should thank them for their offerings–their fruit, their branches, even their whole being–that we use, knowing that they are giving of themselves for us, and therefore also not taking more than we need.
But let’s go even further. Kimmerer says, “In Potawatomi, rocks are animate, as are mountains and water and fire and places. …of an apple, we must say, “Who is that being?’ And reply “Mshimin Yawe.” Apple that being is. Interestingly, she goes on to say that Yawe is the animate to be, and asks, “By what linguistic confluence do Yahweh of the Old Testament and yawe of the New World both fall from the mouths of the reverent?” If water is animate, we are not just polluting it, but poisoning a living entity. If mountains are animate, when we remove their tops to mine them, are we essentially decapitating them?
As it happens, I was especially drawn to Kimmerer’s first statement: rocks are animate. I was a preschool teacher for many years. My favorite project that we explored with our 4- and 5-year-olds was one they initiated themselves, when one child brought in a pocketful of rocks from the playground and asked us, “Are rocks alive?” We could have just said no, and explained the difference between living and non-living things, but fortunately we did not. We asked, What do you think? And so began a month-long exploration by the kids of rocks. At the end we asked them, what do you think, are rocks alive? Some said no, some weren’t sure, and some said yes. They had various reasons, such as that things that are alive drink water, and rocks found in streams and oceans probably drink that water, or that things that are alive grow, and there are small rocks and bigger rocks. Some said that things that are alive make noise, and when they banged their rocks together, they made noise. Others said that things that are alive can move, and when they rolled their rocks, they moved. One child observed that her rock had red and white streaks in it, like bones and blood. Julia said that her rock could stand up by itself, and so could she! Zane said that when his father went hunting, he only shot things that were alive. But he had seen his father shoot rocks, so they must be alive. Ultimately, we never told the kids “the answer”. They were free to continue exploring, and to conclude as they saw it. And how glad we are that we did not. I think now that maybe the kids were more right than I knew! I have always collected a rock from places I have traveled to, and I love looking at them and remembering the anniversary trip my husband I took to England 26 years ago, and the family trip we took to Alaska a few months ago, and all the places in between. And how do I know–maybe the rocks are communicating with each other!
How much better our home, the Earth, would be if we had empathy for it as a complete living being, with many living components, with a living spirit!
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