On Thu, 23 Mar 1995, Dancing Hummingbird /aka Joy Williams wrote:
> On Wed, 22 Mar 1995, Bertina Miller wrote:
> > a connection to all living things including the Earth. The concept of the
> > Earth as a living thing is fine, but I do draw a line as to what sort of
> > living thing it is.
> Err, what is the difference between living things? Is one sort any more
> or less alive or more or less important? I don't think that anyone here
> who is a spiritual person sees one thing as more or less sacred or alive
> than anything else.
I think, Joy, that we have to admit that there in the view of many people
there is a difference between saying the earth is a living thing -- the
way a microbe, or a plant, or a dog is a living thing -- and saying that
the earth is "my mother". The former carries no implicit "hierarchical"
ranking of living things, whereas the latter *can* be read (perhaps
inaccurately) as carrying a notion of "priveleging" that which is
sacred. Perhaps you do not mean or believe this -- but sacralizing
language has been "tainted" by patriarchal religion with its hierarchical
patterning of the world.
Jayne
