Gratitude and the Web of Interconnection
Caption: Violet coral, a species of Clavarioid fungi, pokes through some moss from underneath a tree root in north central Pennsylvania.
By John Creasy
The second theme of our Wild Indigo Guild’s program is “gratitude and interconnection.” During 2024 we will be teaching in local churches through eight “Themes for Exploration and Discovery” to help these congregations connect with God and each other through the natural world. We’ll work through a process that will help churches see action for ecology, climate and local issues of justice as issues of immense importance and calling from God. That second theme is one that I’ll reflect on here.
Caption: One of my favorite places to experience mystery and interconnection is in the redwood forests of coastal California. Muir Woods just outside San Fransisco is one of the most accessible places to see huge old-growth redwoods in an intact coastal redwood ecosystem.
Science, theology, spirituality, the Bible and just about every world religion teach that there are strands of interconnection beyond our understanding. What do I mean by this idea of interconnection? The bible calls God “all in all” and the “I Am” leading us to ponder God as the one who is in all, with all, and the source from which every atom of the universe has found its being. For some philosophers God is the interconnection that unites all that is. In science our understanding of interconnectedness continues to deepen and become more and more complex. Biologists once studied individual species but today see that no living creatures exist outside of an ecosystem, a complicated web of interconnection. Some ecosystems are microscopic, like the ecosystem of living creatures in a teaspoon of soil or on the surface of your skin!
In recent years forestry experts have begun to understand what indigenous peoples have known for millennia, all the forest is interconnected and one element cannot be removed without losing many strands of mutual support between species. For instance, Suzanne Simard, a professor in British Columbia, has worked for decades to demonstrate how trees are connected to fungi in the soil which allows them to pass messages and resources to neighboring trees. Her work is some of the first to scientifically document that one tree will share carbon, through fungal mycelium, when another tree is lacking! Peter Wohlleben has demonstrated the same interconnectedness in the forests of Germany. His work tells of ancient tree stumps being supported and kept alive by the underground fungal network and subsequent connection to healthy trees of the forest. Carbon and nutrients are passed from photosynthesizing trees to the ancient stumps, keeping their roots and living tissue alive for years after the tree was cut down,
Caption: John in the redwoods of coastal California
The web of interconnection in ecosystems is complex beyond our understanding. There are millions of types of fungi, all of them with different relationships of mutuality with different plants and animals, supporting life. As people of faith we believe in a God who’s image is reflected in the goodness and complexity of creation. We humbly recognize that all things are connected and humbly admit that we cannot understand the complex webs of interconnection that make life on earth so rich and abundant. This recognition almost always leads me to a sense of awe, wonder and gratitude. As I look out my window on this cold December morning I see my garden here in the city of Pittsburgh. I see the dried up plants that fed us and continue to feed even in the winter thanks to our canning efforts this summer. The soil, worm bin, compost piles, ground cover plants and so much more across our small yard remind me that these elements are connected and creating a healthy and productive ecosystem. Even my yard is more complex than I can understand, and I designed it! This leads me to gratitude for the gifts of our garden this past year. The simiplicity of our urban permaculture garden is a starting place for me to sense and experience the truth of interconnection, that all of Creation is “very good” and created to be in right relationship with all of its individual members. And we can’t leave out the interconnection of our city, the people and networks, some healthy and some broken, all in need of restoration.
What might you do this week to reflect on the beautiful interconnectedness of all that is? How might you use some time in nature to conjure up a sense of gratitude for God’s provisions for us through the complex beauty of the natural world?
