Dandelions are divine

Bill Vitek

The Ecological Citizen Vol 2 No 2 2019: 189–93

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First published: 1 January 2019 | PERMANENT URL | DOWNLOAD CITATION IN RIS FORMAT

Abstract

Begun as a guest homily at a local Unitarian Universalist Church, this essay discusses the significance of Henry David Thoreau's 1851 proclamation, "In Wildness is the preservation of the world." It outlines the efforts that have been made, in the nearly 170 years since, to embody that Wildness – efforts across literature, philosophy, theology, science, medicine and agriculture. This new perspective represents a better way of understanding our origins and the very nature of the unfolding, creative, emergent universe. It demands that we rethink our basic assumptions about the relations between human beings and the other-than-human world. Thoreau's proclamation and modern evidence for its correctness also offer a path of reconciliation to ancient wisdom, and opportunities to heal a wounded Earth and our wounded selves.

Keywords

Agriculture, Anthropocentrism, Human supremacy