Where ever you are right now …take a Moment…Look out the window. What do you see? Do you all not observe a tiny expression of our Earth’s amazing life? How connected do you feel to what you observe?
E.O.Wilson, a leading Ecologist has written, “We did not arrive on this planet as aliens. Humanity is part of Nature, a species that evolved among other species. The more closely we identify ourselves with the rest of life, the more quickly we will be able to discover the sources of human sensibility, and acquire the knowledge on which an enduring ethic, a sense of preferred direction, can be built on.”
And so I would suggest that our generation is on the Threshold of deciding the direction we wish to take. So I could be writing about any number of topics here, right? But no matter what topic I am writing about, it is really all about only One….and that is our relationship to the life of our planet. E.O. Wilson again speaks of our sharing an ancient language with all life….that is DNA…we are all connected in a remote and complex ancestry. And our futures are all bound up with each others.
Carnivores are our Teachers, or I would say our Mirrors into ourselves and where we stand in our relationship to all life. How do we treat them? Why do we treat them in the way we do? Why does our society allow the slaughter and immense cruelty to continue for over 500 years on our American continent? How do we see the interface between the Wild and our Domestic world? Are we willing to share the Land with them?
Coyote is a great Teacher ….they always have been. Our Native Peoples have always known this, and thus Coyote was the major character in their myths used to teach their people. So Coyotes have expanded their range, filling the empty niches of our once great wolf population, and healing the wounds of our Maine landscape. How does it feel to you to live in proximity once again with one that is wild and free? How does it feel to be privy to the language of a wild being?
I see a sunrise, ocean, and tall spruce trees, snow…colors. I am humbled and honored to be a part of it. It feels delightfull to know I am sharing this time with so many wild beings. I hope to coexist with them all, with great respect and appreciation of their presence.
And I hope that coyote’s song will again be heard where I called home for so many years. Sadly, the hounding of them has caused their voice to be silenced there. I envision a better time for them. As we know better; we do better.
Thank you for this chance to learn and share all things Coyote.