The opening words of this beloved song of Francis spark memories of heart and harmony too often found only echoing from wooden pews in buildings of worship. We know this is not the full choir. Those of you who spend ample time in the wilderness know these Alleluias ring just as true from the mouths of our friends of the field and forest who do not tarry in lifting their voices to sing, chirp or growl.

As humans, we have taken a very strict ego-centric view of our shared planet. Did you know the World Resources Institute estimates that the Earth holds 10 million species? And only 14% have been given names! Is it possible for our species to shift to a more eco-centric worldview?

The words of John Muir (founder of the Sierra Club) offer some insight on a place to begin the shift:

Now, it never seems to occur to [some] that Nature’s object in making animals and plants might possibly be first of all the happiness of each one of them, not the creation of all for the happiness of one. Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation? And what creature of all that the Lord has taken the pains to make is not essential to the completeness of that unit - the cosmos? The universe would be incomplete without man; but it would also be incomplete without the smallest transmicroscopic creature that dwells beyond our conceitful eyes and knowledge.

(source: Muir, John.  A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf.
Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, (1916), Chapter 6)

If we approach our creature companions as fellow journeyers in the fulfillment of the cosmos, how would that change our views, interactions and responses to their livelihoods? Would we be more mindful of how we eat? Or have more concern over the destruction of their homes?

In our current culture, creatures of the earth have predominantly been seen as sources for food, clothing and household pets. Historically, this has not been the whole story; animals have also been seen as teachers, coworkers and friends! The loss of common knowledge of local animals has produced the loss of love for their well-being and fulfillment. This loss of animal husbandry and respect has made it easy to mistreat, displace and eradicate our fellow creatures from their homes.

St. Francis’ life speaks to this, for he was known to preach to the birds, converse with the fish and famously tamed the wolf at Gubbio. Francis’ love of (and for) Creation was not stifled by low definitions of subduing and exploiting, but by the greater expansion of the Creator’s love for all that lives and breathes. The invitation of St. Francis’ life is to respect all created beings as fellow members of Creation on the journey towards the fulfillment of the cosmos.

May we step out of our brick and mortar, wander amongst the lilies of the field and harmonize with the choir of creatures who ceaselessly raise their Alleluias.

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry, The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry. Counterpoint. Copyright © 1998.

Image credit: Bee on Flower by Scott Liddell (hotblack on morgueFile)