In these days when the global economy is in the Bemis, businesses are tossing hard-working honest people to the curb by the tens of thousands, and those responsible for it all are roaming free and cashing their multi-million dollar bonus checks, it’s easy to fall into deep despair and conclude that there is, in fact, no justice to be found in this life. However before mixing yourself a Darvon and Stolli martini then lying down for a nap, consider this: there are indeed still people who are truly honest, deeply compassionate, and sincerely trying to make the world a better place.
Actually, there are more than just a few; there are millions of them, tens and even hundreds of millions even. Sadly, in the “bonfire of the celebrities” culture prevalent in at least the U.S. and by extension of its pop culture juggernaut in many other countries as well, these ordinary people rarely receive the recognition they deserve. Of course, there are a few who are globally visible – President Obama, for example. However the efforts of most are unknown to but a grateful few – my friend Linda, for example, who while seeing her own working hours cut by her employer is devoting the additional time she now has free to assisting the poor and the hungry in her local community. Yet in truth, while I look to President Obama for national leadership and my friend Linda for the best visible expression of the true meaning of Christianity I know, neither of these people can really provide me with the solution I sometimes need simply to make it through the day without screaming incoherently. For that, I often look to a man whom I know and was recently fortunate enough to help welcome back from a year-long expedition: Dr. Robert Michael Pyle, or, as he is better known, Butterfly Bob.
Now, do not think for a moment that I am here doing either one of two things. I am not “deifying” Bob or putting him on a pedestal. This would be anathema to him as he makes no claims to be a leader of any movement (outside that of butterfly or invertebrate conservation at least, and even then he would be the first person to point out all the other people working for the same cause). I am also not feigning a mock epic style by holding Bob or his work up in such a light. What I am doing is simply bringing to the attention of all who might care to read on that without necessarily meaning to do so, Bob has given at least myself and likely others as well a reasonable and practical solution to help in all the days when the troubles of the world weigh too heavily upon our metaphorical shoulders. His solution: go outside and experience nature, ideally as close-up as possible.
In Bob’s case, experiencing nature generally involves invertebrates, most commonly members of the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). The “welcome” previously mentioned was, in fact, a reception held in his honor by the Xerces Society for whom his just-concluded year long Butterfly Big Year raised tens of thousands of dollars that they will be able to use for their conservation activities on behalf of invertebrates and by extension, on behalf of us all. Through Bob’s writings as well as the occasional opportunities I have had to hear him speak, I have learned of the immense power resident in the natural world to heal the wounds inflicted upon us by the “unnatural” one we have created. To tap into this power, all we need to do is slow down, sit down if possible, and contemplate the natural world we will thus find around us. By such contemplation we may likely release the too often strangling grip of the man-made world from our spirits – even if only for a few stolen moments.
The BBC’s natural history department termed similar activities they promoted in a joint project with the RSPB “Breathing Spaces,” in reference to the physical locations where people found time to reconnect with nature. For my part, the space to breath is as much mental and emotional as it is physical. What I have discovered from Bob’s writing, his speaking, and his basic attitude toward existence as expressed through these respective media is that when we remember that the quality of our existence on this planet is measured not by the fluctuations of the stock market or the partisan bickering of those claiming to be our representatives (be they either elected or self-appointed) but by the amount of time we have invested in seeking better to understand the myriad forms of life with whom we share this orbiting sphere of rock.
Will such activity solve the credit crisis, unemployment, lack of universal health care, or any of the other myriad problems that presently beset us? Not directly. Yet in taking a moment whenever possible to slow down and simply marvel at all small and beautiful things around us that we too often miss, ours spirits may be renewed with sufficient strength to go forward and continue to play our part in what must be done in the larger society to solve the larger and sometimes seemingly unsolvable problems themselves.
