WHY IS THE WORLD SO BEAUTIFUL?

   This is the first question that RobinWall  Kimmerer, author of "Braiding Sweetgrass" 

asked herself and her professors in grad school. I expect they wanted her to go deeper in a more "scientific way" into biology and botany. But--possibly building on her cultural history as a member of the Powatomamy tribe--she looked at how the world is shining and holy.

 Gosh! How unscientific!This shows how important it is to lead with one's heart. The heart sees beauty everywhere, even when our crowded, partisan minds may not always, but beauty is stored in the heart like sweet bird song. It is ascribed to Dorothy Day the saying, "The world will be saved by beauty." I thought John Ruskin actually said it, but it looks like it was Dostevsky. 

 

 Do I agree with this? Not sure, not now, with the war raging in Ukraine, Putin destroying civilians and infrastructure, 

and our rogue SCOTUS making a hard-right turn against women's rights and the needs of the environment. What would happen to these conservatives if they really, really saw beauty and took it into their hearts?

 If they noticed the small white eggs of Monarch caterpillars, then cherished them when they became big caterpillars, and sat, watching in wonder, as they attached themselves to the bottom of a leaf and prepared to be a chrysalis.

 How could anyone vote against controls v.s. pollution when they saw a Monarch emerging with wet wings, hanging, probably stunned, then watching the veins pump out as the butterfly dried off? Where has our connection to nature and its beauty gone? And how can we regain it?

 We recently had a visit from my amazing step-brother, Mario (a world-renowned ornithologist) and his Brazilian wife, Rita. He takes birding groups into the rain forest and she takes kids from the urban setting of Manaus into the rain forest as well. 

She claimed, "The kids have no connection to nature!" And the following discussion centered on how can the future generation cherish and protect our precarious and beautiful world if they have no ties to it?

 Going back to Robin Wall Kimmerer. In the beginning of "Braiding Sweetgrass" she talks about the origin stories that different countries and Indigenous groups tell about themselves. When Sweetgrass woman came down from the sky, she searched for somewhere to land. Luckily, a large turtle presented itself, but it needed something more. Many animals dove deep down into the water to bring back soil, but it was only the lowly muskrat who managed to bring a small fist full of mud up, before dying, and placing it on the turtle's back. And from that,with the seeds that Sweetgrass Woman had brought, came all of the vegetation, trees, moss, ferns, and edible plants. She blessed the earth with her generosity.

  And what do we Christians have? A lovely beginning story with the late afternoon breeze blowing through the Garden of Eden, where one tree was forbidden to Adam and Eve. Ye old serpent tempted Eve, she ate of the apple, and gave some to Adam. And from this early knowledge came dualistic thinking--good and evil, right and wrong. Not to mention being expelled from the garden by God. This origin story holds little joy, much shame, punishment, and being expelled from heaven for not obeying God. 

  Sorry, but I think Sweetgrass Woman's origin story is far more to my taste. Can you imagine how peoples' perceptions grew from such a story? No punishment; animals helping people; nature growing from generosity. A different world evolving from a different origin narrative.