Sharing the Lot
haiku with reflection for red squirrel and everyone
World Wildlife Day 2024
RED SQUIRREL’S WARY
APPROACH TO THE BIRD FEEDER—
PATIENCE, CHICKADEE.
Red squirrel and the birds and everyone
Nearly three decades ago I joined on work trade for some of a Council of All Beings. Influenced by Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess who coined “deep ecology” and developed by Joanna Macy and John Seed, Council practice supports humans to identify with and speak as other beings. During the “Being Chosen” process, squirrel chose me and called for empathy with their urban plight: feeding off human spoils and dodging automobiles—too often unsuccessfully. The urban environment can be very unfriendly and unevenly so.
The experience being squirrel during Council guides me to this day. Now, I live in a friendly neighborhood with a clever red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) who finds refuge and food in the backyard. We often catch one another eye to eye as red squirrel pauses at the beginning of an approach from the big ash tree along the fence to the roof of the neighbor’s shed then down the chokecherry to where the bird feeder hangs. I do my best to convey that all is clear during these stare downs from my station at the worn oak table in the sun porch.
Though the birds consistently bully one another, I haven’t ever seen red squirrel bully the birds. Neither the birds bully red squirrel. Both bird and squirrel will approach and wait their turn in some seemingly unspoken agreement to share the lot. Why not this peace for everyone everywhere?
Links for Learning
Thinking Like a Mountain: Towards a Council of All Beings by John Seed, Joanna Macy, Pat Fleming and Arne Naess; Also see Council of All Beings at Work That Reconnects
Rooted in nonviolence, deep ecology is a practical philosophy that values all lives, “human and non-human.” Please read What Is Deep Ecology? Definition, Critics, and Misunderstandings | Earth.Org
Regarding their own pecking order, please see Food fight by Diana Marques—“Interactions between birds at a feeder may look chaotic but there is a method to the madness. Using data collected by about 9,500 citizen scientists with Project FeederWatch, this graphic shows the hierarchy of social dominance that governs everything, from food access to perch position.”
Wildlife in decline by almost 70% since 1970 | BBC News brief on World Wildlife Fund’s 2022 Living Planet Report
To help wildlife thrive in our midst, IUCN has developed the IUCN Urban Toolbox, a catalogue of knowledge products on urban biodiversity. see IUCN’s Urban Toolbox…
Not charity, but right sharing. Right Sharing of World Resources | rswr.org
© 2024 Megan Hollingsworth | All Rights Reserved