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The Lives Around Us

Daily Meditations for Nature Connection

John Hunt Publishing Ltd.

Ash – the tree of life

In Norse mythology the cosmos is held together by a single, eternally green Ash tree: Yggdrasil, the "world tree", also called the Tree of Life. In Britain, the Ash makes up around 5 per cent of our woodlands, but she plays host to around 45 other species which depend upon her.

In our own time Ash has come under threat from a fungal disease named, straightforwardly if rather obviously, "Ash Dieback". On dry days at eye level you can spot the symptoms: brown or black staining on the leaf stalks, stem discolouration (the classic symptom is a small section of brown or purple in the middle of an otherwise healthy, olive green, stem) and diamond-shaped cracks (lesions) in the bark. The terrible loss of this country's elms from the late 1960s onwards is still within living memory. Indeed I was born just after the worst of it and I remember the feeling with which one of my primary school teachers described what had happened. So it was with very mixed emotions that I discovered the large mature tree in our neighbour's garden, which dominates the view from my children's bedroom windows, is an Ash. Some people may think it strange to pray for the well-being of a tree, but all things are related. It may even be that the death of these beautiful trees is yet another invitation to live in greater harmony with the environment that is our home. The Ash teaches us that age and vitality are not opposites, and that life can be both robust and fragile.

Find out where the Ash trees are in your area and monitor them for signs of dieback. If you see the symptoms report it immediately to the Forestry Conmmission (there is even an App for this: see their website, which is also listed at the end of this book). The healthiest place for Ash is not in dense stands but amongst other trees. This is actually true for most species – it is only humans who like to create monocultures and then spend huge amounts of energy and resources fighting the diseases that inevitably follow. If you want to do something really ambitious then why not purchase a woodland with some friends and manage it as a "coppice with standards"? This ancient practice yielded a continuous supply of useful wood for communities in the past. It provides a rich habitat for a number of struggling native species of plants and animals and will be the healthiest playground your children will ever know.

From Genesis 2:9 (NRSV)

Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

From Revelation 22:1-2 (NRSV)

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

For reflection and prayer

Is the tree of life in Genesis and Revelation an Ash tree? We do not know and it does not really matter, but the green, healthy vitality of this tree has long stood for the youth and energy of God who, far from being an old man on a cloud (where does that image come from anyway?), is eternally young and invites us to eternal life. For many people today "eternity" is an unattractive prospect. "It could go on a bit, couldn't it?" one of my family members recently quipped. But what if eternity, rather than being a long time, is the experience of living fully in the present? To what extent do I live either in the past or in the future, neither of which is ever truly satisfying? Can I understand the present moment as the place where I am called and the place where God is to be found? Speaking of the Kingdom of God, Jesus more often speaks of it as a present reality than a future hope. Can it be that my failure to live in the present puts me in danger of missing the peace and joy of the Kingdom?

We will look at other tree species later on. Why not find an Ash and simply spend some time there? Feel the bark; gently explore the flexible green twigs with their characteristic black buds. Let the slim, graceful leaves slip through your fingers and ask for the grace of feeling the life that is within the tree and you that flows between you and this creature and holds both in love.

If you find an Ash tree that has died you may spot a round black, golf-ball sized fungus. This is not Ash Dieback but a rather useful creature called King Alfred's Cake. Collect some; leave the rest to continue the valuable work of decay and rebirth, and dry it at home (leaving it in a dry place is usually good enough but a warm windowsill will speed up the process). Once dried it acts as a very good firelighter and will have a far smaller environmental impact than the paraffin-based product you find in supermarkets. And of course it is free! If you are doing the coppice woodland thing, it is time to think about a wood burning stove for your house too. There is no better firewood than Ash, which ironically burns so well it leaves very little ash.

Red Ant – encountering the 'other'

the ants are a people without strength, yet they provide their food in the summer

– Proverbs 30:25 (NRSV)

In writing about other creatures, and especially animals, I am aware of how easy it is to project human qualities onto them rather than to allow them to teach me. Ants are one of a few creatures in these pages where this tendency is particularly acute, so instead of speaking about them in fairly obvious terms (community, industry, humility, determination, strength and so on) I want to dwell on their "other-ness", a theme that informs my reflections on all the creatures in this book, and my relationship with God.

The Red Ants in our garden have built an impressive nest, a network of tunnels right underneath an old tile we laid down specifically for our young children to lift and find wildlife! So they are both mysterious and hidden. Only when we gently lift the tile are they revealed. The nest is feverish with activity (although that is in large part prompted by us disturbing them) but what tasks are being performed is hard to see. In one sense we know quite a lot about these amazing creatures, but can we even begin to imagine the world from their perspective? And are they so connected that they share a common mind, as is sometimes supposed? We may find it easier to imagine the world viewed from God's perspective than from the Ants' (although thinking we know anything of God's experience exposes our lack of humility more than anything else). It was the theologian Karl Barth who famously said "Let God be God", one of those neat sayings that contains so much.

It is telling that an internet search "what can we do for red ants?" yields a lot of advice about how to mitigate their bite, and even more about how to destroy them. I will highlight and applaud the notable exception, an American (Texas) website called "Beneficials in the Garden". Although the author focuses on a different species (Red Imported Fire Ants), much of what she says is also true of our common Red Ant. I love the honesty with which she owns her prejudices and the effort she has made to present a balanced view. The best thing we can do for this common species, as with others, is to be respectful, learn what we can and, as much as possible, leave them alone.

From Exodus 3:2-3, 5-6 (NRSV)

... the angel of the Lord appeared to [Moses] in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, "I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up." ... Then [God] said, "Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

For reflection and prayer

The "theophany" (encounter with God) described in Exodus 3 contains a number of elements: Moses is drawn towards the bush but also warned to keep his distance; the bush burns but is not consumed; the bush is "over there" and holy, but the ground upon which Moses is standing is also holy (and by removing his sandals a barrier between the man and the earth is set aside); God is indeed 'other' but speaks in a voice Moses can hear and understand; God calls himself the God not of Moses himself but of his ancestors; and the name of God, at once revealing but also mysterious, is revealed for the first time.

Choose one of these tensions listed above and take some time to consider it, speaking to God as you feel prompted, and making notes in your journal. If you can observe ants of any species then take some time to do so, asking God for the grace to let go of what you expect to see. You may wish to ask also for the grace of releasing your grip on what you think you know of God. The journey is one of stripping away what is not essential, returning to the core, or source. Take some time to be still and speak the word "you" to God. Realise you are also being regarded and responded to. God speaks this word "you" also. Be strangers, then, to one another that a true encounter may emerge.

Badger – digging deeper

In common with most of our native mammals, the Badger is shy and therefore hard to observe. He is very orderly, keeping setts fastidiously clean, and regularly replacing old bedding (bluebells are a favourite material). His staple diet is earthworms but he is an opportunistic omnivore, enabling him to thrive even when for various reasons worms are in short supply. He does have a capacity for extreme aggression, which has led to "baiting" with dogs (where the phrase "to badger" someone comes from), a practice which has been illegal since 1835. Badgers killed this way are sometimes left by roadsides as if killed by cars, although many die on the roads too. In fact the violence of the Badger is overstated – it only surfaces when he is cornered. Like most mammals he acts on the basis that discretion is the better part of valour.

The Badger trotted forward a pace or two; then grunted, 'H'm! Company,' and turned his back and disappeared from view. 'That's JUST the sort of fellow he is!' observed the disappointed Rat. 'Simply hates Society!

– Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

In fact the solitary badger is a total fiction. He spends his entire life with others in social groups. A colony will have a well-established territory (usually about two and half square kilometres or one square mile), comprising between three and six setts, with a 'main sett' (covering around sixty square metres) near the centre. In the winter the group will usually retreat to this, in much the same way as the ancient Norse and Saxon people would have gathered in their 'great halls'.

Setts have been described as "one of the most long-lasting and complex underground burrowing systems on earth". They are passed on from generation to generation, so some are centuries old, but every Badger has an innate urge to dig, even if the sett is already enormous! Tunnels can extend for hundreds of metres and have a number of exits at different heights. This keeps them well ventilated, and allows the occupants to appear and disappear in different places, giving them a well-earned reputation for illusion.

Badger reminds us that there is a place in life for reticence, even secrecy (more about this in chapter 30). He demonstrates positive use of great strength/energy, able to shift great quantities of earth but reluctant to be aggressive towards others. His strong jaw is linked by some to the power of words, and especially storytelling, and his tough skin suggests an ability to receive criticism without becoming hard-hearted. Do you know anyone who cannot receive praise but seems to absorb criticism like a sponge? This is really a false humility, avoiding change rather than enabling it.

It is a simple fact that not everyone can be trusted, but over time trust can be developed. Beware those who expect trust to come in a day! And yet so many courses and training events, in a misguided attempt to minimise cost, attempt to sidestep the essential business of simply being together and building real relationship. Churches, similarly, seem to think you can appoint spiritual leaders through a process of competitive interviewing, despite the fact that these roles depend upon relationship, and knowing, far more than the ability to impress interviewers.

Spending around seventy per cent of his time underground, Badger is more closely connected to earth than some of the other mammals mentioned in these pages. This reminds us that there are times when we need to go back to what is familiar, reconnecting with family or an old friend, or to a place where we have known peace. It may mean paying particular attention to the stories that shaped your early life, and those you have told about yourself. God loves our story and weaves it into a new one, so this action of going back to our roots is not regressive so much as healing. Badger encourages us to build healthy communities rather than retreat into the "nuclear family" that has dominated the last few generations, and find solutions in relationship rather than through disembodied systems. So he calls us back to the heart of Christian faith which is not a set of rules but a living relationship with God. The "Pure Spirit" website sums up beautifully the Badger-like qualities we can embody: "Dig deeper, tell stories, make alliances".

What can we do for Badgers? Drive more slowly, especially in the countryside, and actively reduce car use. Because their setts develop over long periods a more long-term outlook is needed for land where they are in residence, and we need to think bigger about the land as a whole, rather than breaking it into units that do not relate to each other. Their natural predators – wolves and bears – were taken out of the picture centuries ago. It may seem perverse, but predator/prey relationships are important, and rewilding programmes could be very good for badgers as a whole. We also need to challenge the tendency for human beings to persecute them unnecessarily.

From Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (NRSV)

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.

For reflection and prayer

This strong and unwavering command resonates like the voice of a conservative preacher holding forth in an uncompromising chapel. It can be hard to take, even from God. But the preacher and his chapel came a long time after these words were first said, and his context was vastly different. How can we escape from that and allow them to speak without filters and qualification? These teachings remind us that we are made up of stories, and that our story is valuable and valued. The encouragement to remember is the reason why such a rich storytelling tradition survives amongst Jews and Christians. It is why so many ancient texts have survived, giving us unparalleled insight into the human story as it has unfolded over millennia.

Can we be commanded to love? Again, this can at first seem controlling and egotistical. And yet we are surely at our most alive, our most beautiful, when we love. We speak about "enthusiasm", literally en-theos-iasm, when we see a person's face light up with joy as they speak about something or someone they love.

Where are the roots of your life, and what stories have you been told about yourself that have become internalised? And what about God? How do you respond when you are told to love God with your whole being? Can you talk to God about that?

Set out on a prayerful walk and look out for sticks, leaves, fruit, berries, feathers; whatever you can find. Only collect those you feel moved inwardly towards. When you have gathered them set them out prayerfully, allowing the different items to speak to you about parts of your life story. A stone, for example, may stand for an obstacle you once encountered or a heaviness that remains from some past event. A budding stick may represent opportunities you have had or things you wish to give thanks for. You may wish to continue developing this sculpture/montage over the coming weeks, laying them out on the ground or on a white sheet in your home. Think about the pattern they make and try not to impose a pattern too strongly upon them. How do they speak to one another? Which ones are particularly prominent? Which are no longer as significant as they were?

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Excerpted from The Lives Around Us by Dan Papworth. Copyright © 2015 Dan Papworth. Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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