Fourth in a series of reflections on the questions posed in The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent, Prairiewoods’ Spirituality in the 21st Century facilitator, April 28–29, 2023
“As a living being in the midst of life, I should pursue symbiotic, fractal flourishing for myself, for humankind and for all life.”
—Jeremy Lent, The Web of Meaning, p. 290
Interestingly this question says, “should.” Often, we are admonished that “should” is not helpful, so the question “how should I live” has the potential to make us feel guilty. I’m not so sure this is about guilt—it’s more about a new direction emerging from the broader understanding of who and where and what I am—the three previous questions.
Jeremy Lent is working to expand the worldview most of us have; he’s working to connect humans into the whole of the universe, not separating them from the rest of creation. Knowing I am an organized system, interdependent on the other systems surrounding me and fractally, one of millions of other human systems interrelated to all the plant systems and water systems and on and on, that make up this planet Earth; the question then says to me: How do I behave in order to fit into this whole, realizing that my life depends on every other system living and flourishing? If the larger system collapses, I collapse.
I find it difficult to “get a handle” on this interdependent relationship. The complexity and size allow me to ignore or deny the symptoms of collapse. I also find that as long as I have my immediate needs met, it is easier to put aside the warning signs. I might have a different response if I lived in the rain forests being exploited for short-term monetary gains.
I’ve expanded my knowledge about how I fit in the larger ecosystems; it is now necessary to expand all my current beliefs, values and worldviews and determine how I need to shift those behaviors that may be detrimental to the functioning of the ecosystems I’m dependent upon. My knowledge has expanded, and it’s now time to expand my consciousness and bring my knowledge and beliefs and worldviews into alignment. Ignoring one part of the whole is like “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.” We must live, recognizing our relationships with the rest of our systems, recognizing the ways other parts of the system give to me and then the ways I give to the other systems in order for each part to live. We depend on all the other parts of the whole fulfilling their purpose—to live.
As I take on this task of aligning, I’ve experienced several emotional responses. I’m amazed at the feelings of belonging that have come from understanding who I am and what I am. Feelings of despair have arisen from the realization of the immensity of this task to align my beliefs and actions. I recognize fear in thinking we might have hurt our ecosystem too much for it to recover. I’m grateful for all the ways creation has cared for me—food, water, air, etc. So many emotions!! Maybe, as the saying goes, “one step at a time”—if each of us moves one step at a time closer to aligning our knowledge and conscious behaviors, we can begin to live as we “should” live.
—Ellen Bruckner
image from Unsplash
Jeremy Lent is Prairiewoods’ Spirituality in the 21st Century presenter April 28–29, 2023. His book The Web of Meaning is broken down into six parts: Who Am I?, Where Am I?, What Am I?, How Should I Live?, Why Am I? and Where Are We Going? Ellen Bruckner’s blog series focuses on these six topics. To join us for Spirituality in the 21st Century, visit www.Prairiewoods.org/spirituality-in-the-21st-century.