We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well – for we will not fight to save what we do not love.
~Stephen Jay Gould
We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well – for we will not fight to save what we do not love.
~Stephen Jay Gould
Claiming Joy & Healing Amidst the Climate Emergency 
5 responses to “Take Time To Renew Your Spirit”
Some comments by John Livingston:
The “nature” experience is entirely qualitative, not measurable, not rational. You will have to accept on faith my statement that nothing has been added to my qualitative experience since I was ten years old. There have been many quantitative overlays, many adventures, much data, many sights and sounds, and all the rest of it, but the quality has remained absolutely unchanged since m childhood. The initial experience was everything, and has continued in its original form life-long.
Anyone who has ever loved a non-human being knows the extraordinarily encompassing source of unity that is possible…. This experience is the opening of a gate that leads to the very nature of being…. Extend this selfless “identification” … beyond these individual beings that you “know”…. Touch is good, but not essential. The animal need not know of your presence, for the bond is ancient and indestructible, and YOU are playing the active role in opening your world to his. Put your head to the head of the tomcat; the tiger is near.
Look at the cock pigeon strutting wildly on the eavestrough. Look at him; SEE him … and FEEL the urgency and the perfection and the beauty of his hot being…. Accept what is right in front of you. Know that you and he pulse as one, and that you always did. You may not look the same, but you and the pigeon are no more than differently asselbled manifestations of one thing, one process, one being.
excerpts from The Fallacy of Wildlife Conservation
For quite a while and to a large extent, David Suzuki was the on-screen face and voice of ideas that had their sources in the mind and the work of John Livingston, York University.
Nice – thanks for adding some depth to today’s posting.
[…] school day: presentation by Christine Polle, local environmental enthusiast who blogs at her site Tuesday evening: Welcome Back evening 4:30-5:15 (chat with teachers) and 5:15-6:15 (mingle in gym) […]
Nice quote, Christine. My girlfriend and I have resolved to go for more hikes, but I’m afraid I don’t do enough to enjoy nature.
I do believe preserving nature is central to our survival, though. That’s mostly what motivates me!
I can totally understand lacking the time to get out and enjoy Nature. Hey, I was a reluctant canoeist until this past summer, Scott. My family was far more enthusiastic than I was, until we spent 7 days in Woodland Caribou Wilderness Park this summer. It was amazing, and I became an enthusiastic convert to canoeing (as long as the weather’s good, at least!)