Cultural historian Thomas Berry writes in his latest book, The
Great Work, that certain movements through history have connected
the human venture to larger destinies, related to the universe
itself.
Cultural historian Thomas Berry writes in his latest book, The Great Work, that certain movements through history have connected the human venture to larger destinies, related to the universe itself.
These, says Berry, are humanity’s “Great Works.” They include the works of the classical Greek world with its understanding of the human mind, the articulating in Israel of the divine in human affairs, the creation in China of an elegant and distinctly human civilization, and in America the intimate rapport established by the First People with the powers that brought the continent into existence in all its magnificence.
The North American Great Work of the First People included the Iroquois Thanksgiving ritual, the Plains Indians’ sweat lodge traditions and vision quest, and many other traditions that show how humans become one with the larger context of our existence on Earth.
At Henry Coe and other state parks, as well as county, and national parks , the great work of our age has begun. A little more of Berry’s vision is in order to give validity to such a statement.
Berry, who is also a priest, writes that none of the great works has been perfect. All have been limited by deeply human imperfections. The European occupation of North America, however admirable in its intention, Berry writes, is flawed in its assault on the people and the land.
Worldwide, an industrial civilization has come into being with the power to plunder the Earth in its deepest foundations, with such awesome impact that it has affected its geological structure, chemical constitution, and living forms.
Twenty-five billion tons of topsoil are lost each year due to erosion caused by development and deforestation. Formerly abundant marine species are quickly disappearing from the oceans.
One-fourth of all land mammals are threatened or have been lost due to human interference.
River systems are blocked and otherwise disturbed because of damming and waste disposal. The atmosphere continues to be polluted by the burning of fossil fuels (in the Bay Area, 4002 tons of ozone smog per day during summer).
Berry suggests that the deepest cause of this downward spiral in the Earth’s health is the disconnect between humans and the other-than-human modes of being, everything that is non-human.
The disconnect between human and non-human includes the assumption of all rights by humans.
Thus, other-than-humans have no rights and no value_except in their use by humans.
In so believing and acting, we have moved away from the reality of the Earth (and the Universe).
Berry says there is a single, integral community of the Earth that includes everything and everyone, human and other-than-human. Every being has its own role, its own dignity, its own inner spontaneity, its own voice.
All enter into communion with other beings. Every being has rights. Trees have tree rights, insects have insect rights, rivers have river rights, mountains have mountain rights, humans have human rights.
If you are beginning to sense what the Great Work of our age is, you are probably correct.
Barry writes of it as, “the task of moving modern industrial civilization from its present devastating influence on the Earth to a benign presence…where humans are participating members of the comprehensive Earth community.”
The citizens of California began the Great Work of our era by setting aside the lands we call parks.
Not only have the lands of Henry Coe State Park been preserved, they happen to be one of these largest and one of the last fairly intact eco-systems in the state.
Western California eco-systems are 30 percent intact, according to the World Wildlife Fund. This means that seventy percent of the natural system is “at risk or destroyed”.
There is much to do in our call to the Great Work. One way to begin, or to continue, our own special role in the Great Work of our age is to just be present to the other-than-human modes of existence that are abundant in places like Coe Park, or anywhere.
To discover the plants and trees, the animals and birds, the mountain ridges, canyons, and rivers in Coe Park is to also to discover an intimate understanding of their basic rights to existence.
Where this might lead is tied to our own personal vision of the Great Work.
By Mike Meyer Unified Henry Coe Volunteers
