Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
Matthew 5:1-12
The beatitudes have been the source of inspiration and consolation for many throughout the ages. They have been spoken and quoted with so much love, generosity, faith, hope and peace for they describe the reality of our existence as it should be and as it will be one day. But when I look at nature at her most pristine and unsullied state, the reality of the beatitudes is already here.
In great abundance, nature provides food and sustenance for everyone. In the wilds no one ever dies of hunger. Everyone finds a shelter and a home. When the weather gets too cold, birds fly to where the sun is, rodents burrow deep into the ground and the great bears hibernate in their caves. When the streams and rivers dry up in one place, great hordes and herds of all sorts of cattle and animals undertake a great migration to where the waters still flow. When night comes everything and everyone settles down to renew themselves for the new day that will soon be dawning. Trees shed their leaves in winter to allow mother earth to clean herself. And when summer comes trees put on a rich canopy of leaves and foliage to enjoy the rays of brother sun and to glisten in the shimmering light of sister moon.
And what does man do to all this natural rhythm and rhyme? Man, with his rational mind, tinkers with it. First a little here. And then a little more there. And before we know it, we are thrashing our planet and destroying the natural rhythm and rhyme that makes this earth a paradise. We have turned hot places into cool ones through air-conditioned luxury. We have turned cold places into warm ones with heaters that can be controlled for our comfort. In the process, we heat up the whole planet with our carbon emissions. We have turned day into night and night into day and are now living 24/7, totally disrupting our natural circadian rhythm. We raise and grow crops out of season. We breed fish and livestock through artificial insemination. We mess around with the DNA of living organisms. We are using earth’s resources faster that she can replenish them – often for frivolous and worthless purposes. In the process, we have gutted our her belly and mined minerals without truly understanding what it is we are doing to Mother Earth. And all of these have been done by the one species here on earth that is supposed to be gifted with reason: man.
I realize that the Beatitudes describe a reality that is here now. And we are thrashing that reality. I will live simply, and though my acts may seem feeble, I will preserve the blessedness of this paradise we have been born into.