The Truth Of
Interdependence
Connection
Picking a leaf
off the ground and contemplating it as an object in and of itself is very
inspiring. Its shape and color, the way it feels in your hand, its delicate
veins and the stem that once held it fast to the branch of a tree-all of these
qualities reveal a leaf to be a miniature work of natural art. As we contemplate
this small object more deeply and consider where it came from and what purpose
it has served, we find that the leaf is one small but essential part of a system
that harnesses the energy of the sun, plumbs the depths of the earth, and in the
process brings into being the oxygen many living things rely on to live.
A leaf transforms the elements of its environment-sunlight, carbon
dioxide, rain-into nourishment for its tree. This beautiful, nearly weightless,
ephemeral piece of nature is a vital conduit to the branch that is a conduit to
the trunk that is a conduit to the roots of the tree. The roots, in turn, draw
nourishment from the earth to feed the trunk, the branches, and the leaves. The
living beings that inhale the oxygen that comes from this process exhale the
carbon dioxide that feeds the leaves through which the tree is fed. It is
difficult to know where one cycle ends and another one begins.
One of
the many gifts that nature offers us is a clear demonstration of the
interdependence between all living things. The person who exhales the carbon
dioxide, the clouds that produce the rain, the sun that gives light, the leaf
that transforms all these things into sustenance for a tree-not one of these
could survive without being part of this cycle. Each living being is dependent
upon other living things for its survival. When we look at the world, we see
that this is not a place where different beings survive independently of one
another. Earth is home to a web of living things that are connected to each
other through a spinning kaleidoscope of relationships. We need each other to
survive and thrive.