Deep Connections and The Richness of Life
Our fruitfulness is cultivated from the relationships we have forged.
Norman Wirzba in his book This Sacred Life writes beautifully on how the needs and requirements of a plant are dependent on the strength, variety, and depth of the relationships the plant has to the living and non-living things that surround it. After explaining how an individual plant is not a ‘self-contained bubble’, but is a "dynamic, active, permeable site” for a range of processes and connections that are dependant on carbon dioxide, pollinators, sunshine, fungi, and more, he concludes:
The plant’s continuing growth and decay, and the qualities that will define its specific life, are entirely dependent on the intimacy, depth, breadth, and quality of the relationships it is able to develop.1
The plant’s life depends on its relationships. Without relationships, it would cease to be. The plant cannot be considered in isolation from these relationships; they, in a sense, define what the plant is. The dividing line between a flower and the mycorrhizal fungi that inhabit its roots and supply the plant with nutrients is hairline thin. Some may even say that the two species are at one, much like a lichen.2 What is true for plants is true for so much else in the world around us — and indeed ourselves. The strength of our relationships and connections matter — immeasurably so — but we too easily forget this and live and act as if we exist within our own little bubble of self-concern. But, isolated from all others around us, a fundamental part of who we are shrivels up and dies. We become, vain, selfish, and self-centred — unable to see much of the good that surrounds us and participate in its perpetuation and protection. In short, we neglect what we were made for: to participate in the cultivation of the good of Creation and the good in lives of fellow man.
Farms, society, and us.
One place where the importance of connections and relationships is readily apparent is on a farm. A Good Farmer knows the deeper his farm engages with and is connected to its local environment, the more resilient it will be in the face of change and weather extremes. Likewise, the deeper the connections the farm has with its surrounding ecosystems, the greater the degree that the richness and abundance contained within them will support and fuel the growth of the crops and livestock contained on the farm. The earth does indeed provide richly for those who care for and are embedded within it.
Not only should a farm be deeply connected to the local environment, but also to the rural communities it serves. The closer the farm is connected to its local communities the shorter the supply and demand chains will be; the lower the transaction costs; and the higher the profitability. Being embedded in local communities allows the farmer to observe and respond to the needs of the community, producing what his neighbours need and will buy rather than catering for the needs of some distant, unknown consumer or for the price whims of the volatile and unforgiving commodity markets. The relationship with the local community is not only one way. If the farm enters a period of financial difficulty, the strong bonds of mutual connectivity and dependencies forged with the local community should ensure its members come to the aid of the farm that provides their daily bread.
What is true on the farm is also true in broader human society. Those members of society that have a wide and extensive network — be that of family, church, or friends — have a multitude of places to turn for help when disaster strikes. Surrounding ourselves with wise friends enables us to learn and grow from their experiences and wisdom — an observation that leads to imitation and the perpetuation of wisdom in society. Deepening our friendships leads to greater intimacy and empathy causing us to ‘rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep’. It truly is not good for man to be alone.
Do we truly understand this? In our increasingly individualistic, divided, and compartmentalised world have we lost sight of the importance of our connections to the world around us? Do we think the effort it takes to forge, maintain, and nurture these connections and relationships is too great a cost? If we do, we have come to believe a deadly lie. It is of utmost importance to remind ourselves that the depth and strength of our connections to the natural world and to our fellow men greatly enrich our lives and provide resilience in an age of turbulence; an age where the very foundations of our cultures and societies seem to be being shaken at their core. With determination and resolve, it must be our ongoing priority to strengthen, maintain, guard, and nourish these connections. We must not allow them to fray or break. We need to deepen our roots.
Rich rewards await those who do.
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Norman Wirzba. This Sacred Life, p.82.
A lichen is a mutualistic relationship between fungi and algae. The fungi provide the structure that the algae inhabit and the algae provide the source of food and energy for the fungi. The fungi cannot exist without their algae partner.