the tree could be man's best friend

i don't like to make any partial posts on religion per se but i felt like writing about this thought. i'm taking a native american religions course and one of the main discussions is animism. i find it a very captivating subject. the idea that every person, animal, plant, even manmade objects could have souls or spirits. whatever religion or belief or way of life that you practice, i think there should still be an underlining importance to respect the world around us. i believe that by being one of many species/things/objects, our actions have consequences. even if you're atheist, there is an earth around us, there is a universe that we belong to and even if we are one little spec in a vast space, we do have an impact on a piece of that space. it's sad to me to think that as humans we make ourselves the most important beings. yes, we are important, but we aren't the only ones. look around you. there are living creatures that's lives and existence is affected by us. many probably think that going outside and communicating to a tree is a bit strange, but in a sense, by any interaction you have with it (i.e. planting, watering, cutting, climbing) you are communicating with it. at least, an animist would claim so. what or whom decided that because plants don't speak our language we can't speak to them? we talk to our pets. we talk to animals in the zoo or park. we even talk to the fly that keeps flying in our face. sometimes we end up talking to furniture or appliances. although maybe the latter is because of some complaint. still, why not plants?

either way, we should respect them. that is giving them care and possibly love and what living thing doesn't want to be cared for? sometimes people argue that we should take care of our earth so that our grandchildren will have a green earth. but is that really enough reason. shouldn't it be because they matter too? i don't know. maybe i'm just expecting that people would feel compelled to care for a plant the way that we care for a pet. that might just be the way i see things. well, to show you who i love, check out the pic. it's my basil plant. her name is Zola, which means "piece of earth". and yes, i do communicate with her. she's my sunshine and i love waking up and seeing her while i eat breakfast. hopefully, i will one day have a garden for her.

i encourage you at least to next time stop and think about what you see around you. our planet is beautiful place full of beautiful beings and things. maybe even try to communicate with it. you never know what might happen. i'm no shaman, but i do know that amazing things happen when i open up myself to the world around me.

i hope you had a restful and groovy holiday weekend, i know i did. now back to reality,

-Genevieve