Sustainable Spirituality

EarthAbbey member, Br Simeon Christopher Pyke is an Independent Franciscan living in a small hermitage on the edge of South Wales which is also part of the Quiet Garden Movement. As a contemplative, Alan Mann asked Br Simeon to reflect on the relationship between spirituality and a life more in tune with the earth.

My approach to life is holistic, as is my spirituality, seeking to make no false distinctions between the sacred and the secular. I recognise the earth as a living entity and its cycles as a reflection of the patterns of human lives, especially in respect of planting, growth, harvesting and introspection. There is an awareness that we belong to the land, the land does not belong to us. Little things really matter and our care of them expresses our respect for all that is and all that has gone before. Respect is due also for other people and their beliefs, and is an obligation of creative love. The threads of creation weave a tapestry of great beauty. Art, culture, religion and faith reflect this vision and draw inspiration from the natural world, something that is often forgotten in modern society.

The interwoven themes of the Franciscan, Celtic and Mystic traditions have helped point the way for me, growing tired as I did with an over-full life of urban stress, noise-pollution, light-pollution and all the soul-pollution that over exposure to the media and consumerism can bring. This spirituality is for me a powerful corrective to the strident, sickly sentimental, and excessively rationalist ideas which are sometimes encountered in contemporary Christianity. Increasingly I have felt in tune with those who have lost their way with today’s ‘church’, turning instead to their roots in order to seek a relevant spirituality. For many, these roots are earth-based and Celtic. By acknowledging our interconnectedness with nature, and admitting that even our hardest work does not entitle us to exclusive rights to the fruits of the soil, we form a respectful, caring attitude to creation, spirituality and the Grace of God.

As the conservation movement warns of the disasters in careless disregard of ecological checks and balances it comes close to the feelings of the early Celtic Church. They did not know of kill-all pesticides, or inorganic fertilizers, but even in those distant days they were aware that people were beginning to adopt ways of agriculture which would provide quick results regardless of the harm that might be done.

An ancient celtic story tells of an angel rebuking Columba when he was angry at God because penitents died who had been living on bread and water. The angle said, ‘Do not be amazed if the bread and water cannot sustain them. The fruits and plants of the earth have been devastated, so that there is no strength or force in them to support anyone. The falsehood, sin and injustice of humanity have robbed the earth of the strength and force of its fruits. When humanity was obedient to God’s will the plants of the earth retained their proper strength and water was no worse for sustaining anyone than milk’.

Like all world faith traditions, the Celts held a belief that the world would prosper as long as the laws of Creation/Creator were adhered to – obedience to the rhythms and harmonies of the natural environment.

Even if we do not share such a direct theological faith, it is obvious that the way we are treating our living earth is threatening us with catastrophe. Perhaps we need to take the injunction of the eleventh chapter of Deuteronomy in all seriousness – ‘Those who love God will have plentiful crops and good pasture for their cattle’. In practical terms, this love for God is shown in a proper care for the earth.

My spirituality and care of the earth? I can’t see how they could be separated.

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