Constructive Living

On Saturday, we played host at the monthly open Quiet Garden behind the Manse.  Part of the morning is spent in quiet reflection in the garden (as the London weather permits…) before coming back as a group and discussing questions that were posed before the meditation time began.

As Justin and I looked through some resources to get ideas as to where to take the morning, we thought about what was happening in the world at the time.  The G8 talks were getting ready to ramp up, and demonstrations had been taking place to raise awareness of food security and food sovereignty issues.  In one of our newly enjoyed books, The Healer’s Tree, by Annie Heppenstall (of Iona renown), we happened upon a story from Ireland called “Kevin and the Otter.”  The story tells about Kevin, a monk who lives with gentle care in his wooded environment.  His seeming oneness with the animal kingdom inspires others to join his order.

In the story, there is an otter who lives in a pond near the monastery.  Kevin gains such a deep level of trust with the otter that she brings fish to the door to share with Kevin.  After some time, one of the other monks, exploiting the trust of the otter, catches it with ease, kills it, and sells its pelt.

Most of our reactions to this story would be a sense of horror that trust could so easily be betrayed.  But the story goes on to point out that we are all guilty of such dishonesty as our lives in this day in age do result in the exploitation of natural resources.  It is impossible to extricate ourselves from consuming.

One of our housemates who was keeping up with the food sovereignty talk on social media, told us about an exchange she saw:  a person had taken a picture of a part of the protest and posted it as a sign of their support for the cause;  another person responded saying something to the effect of, “and did you take this with your iPhone?” (indicating their own use of finite mineral resources, likely taken somewhat illegally by private, multi-national corporations.)

So, for the meditation, we posed the questions, “How far do you want to go in living harmlessly?  And how far do you feel it is possible for you to live harmlessly?” and “In terms of creating increasingly sustainable and non-harmful lifestyles, how might we educate ourselves in finding new alternatives?”

Living in community with others who share differing values, the easiest thing to do is recognize the least common denominator.  What do we all agree on?  Where is the least tension?  But, is that really the best or healthiest?

How we live is also affected by where we live and our access to both resources and education.  Living in the city, we tend to focus more on how/where/why our resources (money, usually) are used.  Living in the country, the focus may more often be on how one lives or provides for self, money being less of a resource typically, and tangible goods being a greater resource.  Towns or villages fall somewhere in-between.

Lastly, we are short-sighted.  For most of human history, we have not had the luxury to think past our own existence.  We consume for now, make policy for now, etc.  It takes incredible discipline to think how even one action affects all of the future.

None of us (I don’t believe) chose when or where or to whom we would be born, but I think within our spaces and times, we have the call to live cognizant of a pursuit of justice for all – and that includes future generations.  Following the adage, “Live simply that others might simply live,” I would suggest, “Live harmlessly and constructively, so that others might live well.”

[Thanks to Rod and Vivi for fleshing out these ideas with us at the Quiet Garden – some of my writing reflects thoughts they brought up.]