Week One in Review

The lived-in ethics project has consumed much of my thought this week. Since the project began I have been analyzing every one of my motives, actions, and decisions and trying to determine how well they correlate with my beliefs in general, and specifically about the environment. The more I read about biocentricty the more it appeals to me, however there are some things that it would require giving up that I am not willing to sacrifice. This, and the morality of it, is something I have been thinking about quite often of late. 

My specific project of reevaluating my time allocation has been going great!

Deleting my facebook has eliminated the mindless and unproductive time spent on the internet which has been wonderful. I also had the privilege of spending a lot of time outside this week, as well as a lot of time around animals. Specifically Shadow, a lovely retired sled dog, who I dog-sat for the week. 

Being in the constant presence of an animal while reading Peter Singer and the like was so interesting. I tried to be mindful of taking her interests into equal consideration as my own. I also pondered many epistemic questions, wondering what the capacity of her thoughts were, how she was feeling, what she was aware of and how much she could perceive about those around her.  

In addition, I spent four hours this week with Gary Rapp, who is quickly becoming my new best friend. Gary is an incredibly intelligent, mindful man, who knows more about Colorado Spring's ecology and history than I ever thought was possible. Gary is an avid practioner of native agro-forestry, the reintegration of native plants and eradication of invasive species in order to help ecosystems thrive. He is determined to restore the Shooks Run Park System, whether or not he has to do it all by himself. 

A section of Shooks Run Park

While perusing Gary's tree nursery one afternoon, the topic of Aldo Leopold came up. He was excited that we were reading him, for Leopold has been the inspiration for much of his work. Gary loves the idea of being a member of a community that includes all living species. The amount of time and energy that he expends to assist and protect the environment demonstrates how strongly he subscribes to eco-centricity and puts this belief into practice on a regular basis. 

It has been very inspiring to witness his dedication and thoughtfulness regarding nature. My time spent trimming trees and inspecting Siberian Elm with Gary has also been incredibly helpful in my personal evaluation of what is important to me. The two afternoons I spent working in Shooks Run Park put me in the best mood. Making actual physical contact with nature is very calming and always puts things into perspective for me. Knowing that such a simple thing can make me so happy has made me realize that perhaps I would be willing to forego the things I have been reluctant about sacrificing, such as skiing and travel by plane, if it meant preserving the wild for myself and others down the road.