Speaking About Animism
Have you considered the connection you have with your beyond-human neighbors: the animals in your local ecosystem? National Geographic defines an ecosystem as “…..a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscapes, work together to form a bubble of life”. I tend to think of it as sharing a common reality with my beyond human local neighbors.
I don’t know about you, but when I consider we have a shared, daily, physical reality with the animals it sure makes it easier to be in true kinship with them, instead of claiming power-over.
Something else that helps me relate to the local animals: being grounded in animism. In episode 4 I talk about animism, I invite you to give that a listen if you haven’t already heard it. Basically, my working definition of animism is it’s an awareness of what is beyond myself, the belief that everything has a soul, is connected and because of that connection it is possible to be in true kinship with each other.
“Awareness of what is beyond myself” sounds like a tall order! The multiverse is immeasurable and it’s not feasible to be in true kinship with all that exists.
But it’s paramount to start somewhere. As friend, colleague and mentor Kelley Harrell says “Animism is where you stand”.
Start where your feet are planted — within your own ecosystem — perhaps it’s your neighborhood, your backyard, a park or even a street corner.
By the way, if you’re not familiar with Kelley’s work, be sure to visit her website Soul Intent Arts, you’ll find the link on the show page. AND, Kelley is on the schedule to be a guest on an upcoming episode. Be sure to follow the podcast so are the first to get the information on that!
I used to live in a small rural town outside of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. One of the first things I noticed when I moved there was the number of cats roaming the streets. Some were feral, but the majority were house cats that were allowed to roam freely.
I immediately set up a food, water and safety station for the cats. Eventually more and more cats started coming around to visit. Then I started seeing more and more dead birds and I started receiving more and more complaints from my neighbor who had set up feeding stations for the local birds.
Oops.
That’s a perfect example of good intentions gone wrong resulting in the local bird bird population suffering because of my interference. I did not know how to expand my human vision to include true kinship for all: what that looked like and how it worked. I could not conceive how it was possible for me to create harm as I was convinced I was acting from the best of intentions.
I started where my feet were planted — right in my own back yard. The cats had access to food, water, warmth, straw and a safe, cozy winter shelter to protect them from those frigid MN temperatures.
I knew I had done right by the cats because I had googled this and done EXACTLY what google advised.
I had no idea the harm I was creating by my interactions with them, not to mention my neighbor. As a matter of fact, if someone had then told me that’s what I was doing, I would have looked at them in complete disbelief. After all, I was taking care of the cats, right??? Making sure they had food, water and a safe refuge. What was wrong with that?
I was viewing the situation from a “better than” perspective — in order to help the cats, I thought the sacrifice of a few birds was necessary. Circle of life, right?
Maybe. But the point is I wasn’t looking at it from an animistic view. I was looking at it from the lens that I was taught as a child: cats are better than birds.
By unconsciously using that “better than” lens, I created division between myself and my human neighbor. The balance of my local ecosystem was disrupted, affecting the bird population — and possibly the cat population — in an adverse way.
All the while trying to do what I perceived as right by the cats.
It’s necessary to recognize the effect of your intent. The effect can often be very different than what you thought it would be. Your intent may unintentionally be creating harm.
Looking back, I now see solutions I could have implemented that might have been better for all. I could easily have put my cat care station in another part of the yard, away from the neighbor’s bird feeders. I could have moved the cat station to the woods across the street, which when I think of it, might have been better for the cats. I could have tried setting bells around the cat station so if they bumped into one that would alert the birds. I simply didn’t/couldn’t think out of the box at the time.
Another option: I could also have chosen not to interfere with the ecosystem the cats and birds had already created.
The hard truth is, I needed to help the cats more than the cats needed my help.
My actions were prompted by my childhood teachings and my caretaker and savior lenses, which are offshoots of the ecocentric lens. The ecocentric lens views humans as better than animals, having dominion over them and knowing what’s best for them.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
When based in animism, true kinship with animals is a gentle moving towards connection and relationship, not a final destination. It’s not binary, it’s not either/or, it’s not “better than”. It’s a practice that influences and guides your everyday connection and relationship with animals.
It stems from when we know better, over time we do better. Accumulating that wisdom and practice is a state of mind, a dance between knowing and not knowing, a conscious choice for a way to be that is not divisive or “better than”.
When you find yourself in that position, this can help:
- Ask yourself WHY you feel compelled to step in
- Ask yourself WHO will be harmed if you step in
- Ask yourself IF you are ready to step back and make restitution if your intent has a negative impact on your neighbors in your shared ecosystem
I hope this encourages you to discover places where you are unconsciously listening to messages that interfere with the way you want to be with animals. I invite you to look at your relationship with animals differently, so that a new place of understanding begins to open for you, allowing you to identify your internalized narratives and guiding principles with animals.
