Last month, the Bowen Island Lodge hosted the island’s second Philosophy Café (Café-Philo). This time around, the conversation tackled some of the most difficult questions of our time: What is our relationship with the natural world? And will we ever live in harmony with nature?
Amidst a rapidly changing climate and expanding human population, there are mounting doubts about our longevity here as a species. It is a global issue as much as a local one. Whether considering the nearly complete bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef halfway around the world or the pollution of Howe Sound resulting from nearby resource development, we (human beings) are placing a significant strain on Mother Nature. Greater balance is clearly needed, but is it possible?
In a group of nearly 30 attendees, there were mixed opinions. Some were more optimistic about our future on this planet than others, believing that balance would be struck eventually (likely following a natural disaster of some kind). Others suggested that we are too far gone, having long ago committed ourselves to a lifestyle of consumption, waste, and endless expansion.
From either perspective, the challenges we now face seem too numerous to count. From energy and food production to urban sprawl and the loss of biodiversity, we are a species constantly at odds with the world around us.
But an important point was made during our discussion. Although we have forged a unique relationship with the natural world (we are, after all, considering resurrecting the woolly mammoth), we are also part of it.
Our own prosperity depends on the health of our environment as well as that of others with whom we share resources.
An appreciation of our mutual interdependence, whether in nature or in society, results in an appreciation for all individuals (human or otherwise) and for the land itself. It is perhaps in our capacity to treat each other with love and kindness that we might rediscover our ability to treat the world the same.
Whether in our small island community on Bowen or in the world at large, we must see ourselves as part of a complex evolving system. Our goal in every interaction should be harmony, not control, if we wish to see this through. We are perhaps stewards of the Earth by consequence of our influence, but we are not its masters. It is only with this humility that we might begin to heal our relationship with nature and preserve our place in this world.
The next Philosophy Café will be held on April 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Bowen Island Lodge.
Our conversation will focus on the following questions: As a community, to what extent are growth and evolution possible while preserving elements of the past? Do tradition and convention stifle or inform progress?
Our goal is to provide a safe space for healthy, respectful conversation and debate in order to raise local consciousness.
