While most of us have very likely heard – and even used – the phrase “scorched earth” as a metaphor for some level of damage left in the wake of an action such as the quitting of a job or the breaking of a romantic relationship, there’s a reasonable chance that in doing so we haven’t fully understood the severity of the words we uttered.
Have you ever wondered just how it all began? Life on Earth, I mean. Unless you take the garden of Eden stories in the Hebrew book of Genesis, or perhaps a different mythological explanation, literally, it’s quite likely that your curiosity has followed a biological, or perhaps bio-chemical line of enquiry.
As so many of us have now merged into the ultra-slow lane of life, and are spending greatly increased amounts of time meditatively getting to know both the domestic as well as natural worlds around our respective domiciles to a level of detail far more exhaustive and refined that we ever previously contemplated, I’ve been trying to bring attention to new and forthcoming books that might best fit with such revisions to our lives.
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” The words attributed to Jesus of Nazareth in The Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter five, verse five, are pretty clear about that. But, as my history of religion professor was fond of asking “Who are the meek?”
From a biological perspective, the vast majority of the plants and animals that are slowly, quietly, and efficiently taking advantage of the changes humans are making to the planet are decidedly “meek.”