Being good ancestors

Hello friends. The idea of an ecological spirituality is a central point to the world we leave to coming generations. Whether the “greening of Christianity” will go forward will depend on how religious groups assess the reality of ecological crises. Christianity, in tandem with other religious traditions, can contribute significant ethical resources for ecological awareness and conservation.  E.O. Wilson, the noted sociobiologist, echoed this in his idea of biophilia: if we don’t love nature deeply and feel united to what we love, he tells us, we will not cherish it. The best Christian ethic for the coming century — and the lives of our children — will be a morality which is forged in our own bonding with the sufferings and joys of Gaia. Best, Gene.

 

“Are We being Good Ancestors?”
title from Underland, Robert Macfarlane

As my days decline,
I wonder with sadness about our progeny.

Will the approaching end of our species
make survivors wonder where we put them?

Will they be careful not to touch tons of nuclear rods
buried beneath our once-beautiful earth?

What puzzles me in this scenario
is our inability to remember forward

by a century or so, like remembering
about the Model T or the first flight.

Avoiding the final catastrophe
is like defying death.

Can we examine fears of losing children
in the ultimate disaster of our making?

Do we cling to blessed forgetfulness
to make present life bearable?

Or will we find the courage
to work against the greenhouse end,

and become the caring ancestors
in the memory of generations.