Life on the Edge

During winter it is not always easy to find a comfortable place to sit for the morning meditations at the Peace Fire when the ground is near frosty cold or my favourite tree stump perch is butt damp. Might as well climb on top of the cover that slows down the rate of fire wood consumption. If the fire beneath is not too hot, lying back on this piece of heated metal is rather pleasurable and affords an easy way to gaze at the sky’s navel if not one’s own. Today, I was mulling over an article in yesterday’s newspaper that questioned the Wilderness Society’s use of actors and other artists to promote the message of stopping the clearfelling of our old growth forests. “If I want scientific, empirical evidence on the state of forests in Tasmania, I wouldn’t go to any of this lot for information!” stated the author of the article. My unscientific opinion is that the world might be a safer place today if artists, women, people of color, shamen, children and animals had more say, not less, in the great debates of this world. What would have happened if the development of the nuclear bomb was tempered with discussion by the Kogi indians of Columbia; a tribe of people who would have asked how might this bomb affect the seventh generation of children into the future? Radiation and its long term consequences might have been given more serious consideration. I love science and the insights it has brought me into understanding the particulars of this world. I also know that the bird chatter in the bush to my left has a message that is just as important to understand if we are to make this world a safe place for all beings to live and prosper. The question is whether or not science can decipher this message without the honoured participation of a reverential heart.