Strengthening Our Connections
April 2006
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Interacting with the Earth
We are born of the Earth; we live on the Earth; we are inspired by the Earth; we die on the Earth. The Earth is our home. Confronting the Earth will be an important first step in our preparation to learn about the world which has given us birth, the Earth which nurtures us each day that we live. How then can we observe, and make contact with, our surroundings?
We can say, first, that there are two general ways in which we interact with the Earth. One is physical, the other is spiritual. Our initial, direct contact with the Earth is physical, as it is with other animals and with plants. In other words, every connection we make with the Earth is made through our body.
But it is through our spiritual interaction with the Earth that the characteristics which we think of as truly human are ignited and nurtured within us.
Imagine yourself in a quiet environment surrounded by green fields and clear water, majestic mountains towering above, streams and rivers winding toward the sea, the wind lightly brushing your face as the sun streams down through the clouds. Your heart and soul are overwhelmed by the beauty, the freshness, the wonder of the experience.
It is as if the mind and heart that had been asleep are suddenly awakened and stimulated to seek intellectual communion with the environment. Our natural curiosity is quickened, and we begin to appreciate the marvelous diversity of nature, perhaps becoming curious about the human culture and customs of the place as well. This inquisitive state of mind is the starting point for deeper interaction with our environment and true learning.
Interaction and Growth
At first, your interaction with your environment may be on a very shallow basis. You observe mountains or rivers, for instance, only on a very superficial level, as something "out there." But as you develop your own life and your personal interests, you will not be satisfied with such superficiality. You will want to go further and enter into deeper kinds of association. The particular kind or kinds of interaction which you have with the world around you at any one point in your life will depend, first of all, on who and what you are, and secondly on when and how the interaction occurs.
Some persons, as they become better acquainted with their environment, may be curious to learn more about rocks, trees, water quality, hydraulic power, etc., and begin thinking about how to make use of them. They may wonder about and want to know about heights, lengths, shapes, origins and the ways in which these various environmental feature have influenced their surroundings. Or they may see these same things in the environment with artistic eyes and be inspired to express their experience in poetry, literature, painting or music. Again, they might perceive the mountain or river or cliff before them as a training ground for their physical endurance and prowess. Or they might receive inspiration and insight into the unity of nature and the cosmos from the same mountain or river.
There are, therefore, many different levels or depths at which persons can interact with the environment.
It is through interaction with this outside world that we can experience healthy, balanced personality growth. Therefore, I say that this outside world, especially the natural environment, can truly be our educator, our enlightener, our leader, our consoler. Our happiness in life is very much connected with nature; it depends on the closeness or depth of our relationship with nature.
When individuals whose characters have become balanced and morally mature through deep interactions with the natural environment gather together, the society they create will provide a healthy, open, social environment capable of nurturing individual growth.
Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944) was a reformist educator who, in 1930, founded the Soka Kyoiku Gakkai (Value-Creating Education Society), the forerunner of today's Soka Gakkai. This article is an excerpt from A Geography of Human Life (Caddo Gap Press), Dayle Bethel's edited version of Makiguchi's Jinsei chirigaku (first published in 1903). www.tmakiguchi.org
