It's time for intimacy
Dear All,
I share these words with you in love, in the hope that they may serve as a loving and gentle reminder to remember what is truly important in life, in your life.
Everything in nature depends on a dialogue, on a mutual relationship and cooperation. Nature shows us that mutual connection and the ability to work together is essential for the survival of all life on Earth. Until now we have become accustomed to conducting a monologue, often against ourselves, but we have forgotten what it is to enter into dialogue with the entire worldly community. In essence, we are still highly dependent on our ability to dialogue with the world, but man has managed to position himself vis-à-vis the Earth in such a way that he considers that 'listening' is no longer necessary. It is this people-oriented attitude, in which we are only concerned with having a monologue with ourselves, that we have become confused about our place in the 'great conversation' with the entire world. What we see in the world are the consequences of a man-centered worldview in which he has raged across the Earth like a reckless force and, with his dominating presence, has endangered the entire worldly community. But my reason for writing is not to tell you this, I may now assume that you know this, but my reason for writing is to speak about the importance that now that the threatening horns of the climate crisis are sounding loudly, we do not must forget to listen, not to the many messages from man, but to the most intimate sounds in our own being.
In crying out for the solution there is the danger that we look for the problem outside ourselves, that we are expected to adopt appearances according to an advised model that is still essentially from the same platonic nature as we live now. By this I mean that we must ensure that we do not (merely) live as good citizens according to all the sustainable steps in which we can check off everything according to protocols, without having used the moment to cultivate a fundamentally different relationship with the Earth. In my opinion, the entire idea of development is not fundamentally about so-called external appearances, as we see in the technological response to the climate problem. These are all external phenomena that we project onto a world that we do not yet fully understand and, in our misunderstanding, have destroyed. My idea is that development should have a different sound and that we should determine a different course that leads 'inwards'. This course does not talk about just coming up with advanced solutions (although those certainly need to be there too) but this course speaks about how the true, most sustainable solution lies in the simplicity of our own being. By sustainable I do not mean achieving all the intended "climate goals" as quickly as possible, but I mean an understanding that provides a solid foundation for coming generations to live on, a renewed world view that is internally cultivated and from which all our choices are based. If a more loving and intimate relationship does not underlie our “more sustainable” choices, then we will continue to live in the same platonic way and we will have to wait for the problems to arise again in another era.
“Our studies in what we call ecology must lead to such intimacy with our natural surroundings. Only intimacy can save us from our present commitment to a plundering industrial economy.”
What we see in nature are the consequences of the inner crisis that takes place in man. The real climate crisis is a spiritual crisis, an inner crisis that is manifesting itself on the outer landscape of the Earth. The entire destruction of the world; of ecosystems, of communities, of other life species is a reflection of the inner turmoil and alienation that humans as a collective (at this stage of the human story) are unfortunately moving through. In this I am referring to each of us and not just to “the big players” from politics and companies. Yes, their contribution to this problem is enormous and horrible, but do not make the mistake of portraying these parties as “they are to blame” because ultimately they too act from inner behaviours and patterns which, perhaps surprisingly, don’t differ much from our own. What I'm trying to point out is that I understand the tendency to think that the difference between yourself and “them, the people in the big companies” is enormous and yet it is important that we see that most people everywhere in the world act based on similar behaviours and patterns, which in turn continue to form the blueprint for the outward expressions. I understand the popular view of identifying “those who have the biggest stake” and yet, therein lies the danger that we are once again acting from a place of separation. That we act from the idea that the problem lies elsewhere and that there are “others” that we do not recognise as a fundamental part of ourselves. It is this way of seeing, in which we view the world as a collection of isolated phenomena that we also see reflected in the worldview that continues to give birth to many major problems, not only related to nature.
Make no mistake, our disturbed relationship with nature has its origins in the age-old idea that nature is something that is outside of us, something from which we are separate and can deal with it as we see fit. This is a story of separation, a similar delusion that we find in many human conflicts and which always underlies the justification of misconduct. The root of many a worldly problem lies in the alienation of man in which he lives from the belief of separation and is unaware of his true inseparable connection with everything in life. What really matters is that we need to deeply reflect and understand that what we see happening in the world is an outward reflection of human actions to which we also contribute (often unconsciously). The future of the Earth as a whole depends on the extent to which man no longer experiences the world, i.e. everything and everyone that lives and grows in it, as 'something' that is outside of him, but in which man comes to recognise himself as integral with everything in this wonderful creation. As far as I am concerned, this is an essential point in developing a fundamentally new understanding with the world. Although we often perceive the world as isolated phenomena ("they", "them", "that", "there") and thus divide reality into compartments, there is in fact nothing such a thing as isolated. Everything that lives is a manifestation of the whole, an intimate part of creation in which everything works together in symbiosis. Not only humans are completely dependent on this intimacy, but everything in life depends on the extent to which 'things' cooperate with each other in an intimate relationship.
“Everything is integral and interacts with everything else. This means that nothing is itself without everything else. There is a commonality, an integrity, an intimacy of the universe with itself.”
What is needed, more than ever before, is that in all our well-intentioned wishes for progress we do not take a bigger step forward towards new ingenious solutions, but actually first take a step back, catch our breath and take our time. You may think, given the enormous problems, that there is no time, and yet it is essential that we take the time. Taking the time for intimacy, gaining insight into the reality of our own being and being able to encounter life in its fullness there. Only to walk the way out from that place, from that understanding. The moment we realise that in the deepest part of our being we are inextricably linked to all that lives, it will be impossible to harm this any longer because we are essentially harming ourselves. First and foremost, wanting to see the world in this way and therefore being able to see it requires us to have a disarming attitude towards this world. In inviting the world into our innermost being lies the opportunity to recognise everything as ourselves, for the almost childlike fact that nothing can be pointed out that does not belong to the most intimate part of yourself. You can travel as far in the Universe as you want, there is no place where you do not look directly at yourself in the mirror, that alone is such an enchanting and extremely intimate fact that can inspire us to look with more compassion, also at “them” who we believe plays the greatest role in all this.
Dear friend, in all my words I can only try to contribute to writing a new story, a story in which we get rid of the myth of separation and grow towards wonder and connection. A story that speaks about a deeply rooted feeling of love with a real, deep intimacy. A story in which there is a common interaction, a mutual feeling of trust, an amazed feeling of connection with everything that lives for the simple fact that we are part of each other's existence. A deep sense of belonging in this miracle in which we come to recognise, experience and behave as part of a larger worldly community. A story in which people listen again to the greater dialogue of the world. The dialogue that speaks of the rhythm of the Earth in its many magnificent manifestations, its vivid expressions, the life-giving seasons and all the manifestations we can discover within it. This dialogue involves listening to the water, the sky and it’s colourful creatures as they soar through the sky while singing. Everything that lives and grows participates in this great dialogue, with its own experiences, dreams and possibilities. We need to enter this conversation, this dialogue, with the world, perhaps more now than ever before.
In all our efforts to rush to a solution, let us not forget to stop, feel the wind on our faces, caress the bark of the tree, behold the colourful blossoms and feel ourselves intimately partakers of this wondrous spectacle of life. And maybe, maybe that's where we'll find part of the solution.
In love and reverence, sven
