Ecosystems do not stop at civilization’s doorstep. Ecosystems inform everything that is good about mankind. Ecosystems do not judge us even though we have lost our way. Ecosystems will keep on giving gifts to us right to our dying breath, and beyond.
Ecosystems are like music. Music never stops giving, and, even though we are often quick to judge it, music does not judge us. Music informs every culture, and every generation, just as ecosystems inform landscapes: uniquely and fitly.
I can’t resist walking through the woods, and when I do I am just like some white kid, circa 1950, under the spell of the blues and gospel music heard late at night on the radio. Black music struck a deep, spell-binding chord, drawing white kids to black churches and black neighborhoods, where they could at the very least, hear it coming out of windows and doorways.
Sometimes, when I walk through the woods, I feel as if all of the trees are welcoming me the way the creators of that soulful music welcomed white kids into their rhythmic world. When I walk through the woods I feel as if the plants and animals are cautiously happy to see my sincere enthusiasm. I feel as if the trees are guardedly waiting to cheer me on.
Someday soon, I believe, some Elvis Presley of the ecosystem is going to come along and spread the gospel of ecosystems. Human, animal, and plant sprouts alike will open up their precious hearts and bodies like crazed fans. Sunlight, leaves, flowers, breezes, birds, and brooks, and all the insects and animals too, will dress up in their finest outfits, scintillating in their favorite perfumes; All creatures will be screaming with joy for the new kid, who not only gets the rhythm of it all, but who channels the harmony of it all, too.
This eco-elvis-kid will show us the way to save our planet. He or she will reveal that the power of ecosystems is ready to flow through all of us, just as rock and roll once flowed through Elvis.
Save the Planet! Be Qualiadelic!
Tony Brussat