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Reflection
By
David E. Wilson, Jr.
f the Holiday
Season is a time for many of us to give thanks, it must certainly
be a time to reflect on what it is we are thankful for.
n
a culture where cash and immediate self-gratification are king, reflection
is not only an unpracticed art, but also one that can yield uncomfortable
insights.
 o
for this one annual day of introspection, I suggest we contemplate
changing the things we know are not right and in the process learn
to make at least minor sacrifices for other people, and in particular,
other living things. Instead of asking what is the maximum amount
of trees you can cut down for your waterview, or how much water you're
allowed to use, or how much land we can develop, ask the opposite.
 ut
aside your desires in order to think about how your behavior affects
other people and other living things. Are you adding or detracting
from the natural beauty that gives life meaning? In your quest to
live well, are you denying the rights of other things to live at all?
One man's need for a water view may be a box turtle's need to just
exist.
 e
need to make sure, too, that we are not kidding ourselves into beliefs
that allow us to proceed, unfettered, with our narcissism. How many
Hummer drivers have convinced themselves that global warming is just
a propagandist movement of a bunch of fossil fuel-hating wackos? Or
are there some developers who think God placed man above animals so
he could place cookie-cutter subdivisions on their habitat? In general,
studying natural science can dissect our behavior, and humble and
humiliate us in the process.
 n
a grander scale, it brings the very nature of our existence into question.
Perhaps this is why our culture is so poorly versed in physical sciences.
Knowledge has a way of creating fear and guilt and ultimately denial.
We figure if we skip intellectual advancement in the first place,
it will save us the detour. Still, self-afflicted ignorance is no
excuse for immoral behavior.
 his
is why for this one day we must muster the strength to ask ourselves
the tough questions which reveal just what the things are in life
we are thankful for. What in this world has value besides that which
benefits us? Is it truth, beauty, life, or liberty? Can we have one
without the others and whose life and liberty are we talking about?
erhaps
without a true understanding of nature, our culture cannot adequately
answer these questions. Nature created beauty and truth and life in
the first place. The liberty is our creation, which we sometimes wear
with flamboyant pride, but the question of how far we have extended
that liberty to other peoples and other things remains.
 ouldn't
we be even more thankful this holiday season if our virtues were slightly
more virtuous?
Contact Dave Wilson
See past topics of In the Flow here!
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