Guidestone is dedicated to strengthening the local food economy through preserving agricultural resources and educating for ecological literacy.
The Upper Arkansas River Valley is a remarkable place in which to live! Within its awe inspiring landscape of mountains, canyons and river valleys, a number of meaningful organizations have taken root. These thriving organizations enhance the quality of life here and nourish us in countless ways through their work.
Recently I attended presentations put on by one such organization, The Collegiate Peaks Forum Series, whose mission is: “to facilitate the intellectual enrichment of The Upper Arkansas Valley residents and their visitors by sponsoring events featuring nationally recognized persons schooled in philosophy, religion or science and hosting other community discussion activities”.
Great work! And a big thank you goes to them for the quality speakers we are continually treated to through their Lecture Series. Temple Grandin, one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world, spoke in two separate presentations: Animal Behavior and Autism (a condition Temple has lived with all her life). Last week Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow spoke at the SteamPlant Theater in Salida. Michael’s most recent book is Thank God for Evolution, and Connie’s book The Ghosts of Evolution was on the list of Amazon’s top recommended science books for a number of months.
I had the opportunity to spend time with Michael and Connie in beautiful Chalk Creek Canyon discussing ecological wonders such as the Chalk Cliffs, moraines in the valley, our natural hot springs, bats and local fauna and flora. It was their first time to visit this area. Their enjoyment and enthusiasm for the natural world is contagious, and through their study and understanding of nature and science, they share a link with Guidestone in this appreciation of ecological literacy.
To be ecologically literate is to understand the basic languages “spoken” by Earth, which are easy to see in natural settings. And it requires more than intellectual understanding. It is to become aware at the deepest level of your consciousness that we share the same story. And, since Earth’s story is one chapter in the universe story, you learn to experience yourself in the unfolding drama of the universe. Ecological literacy focuses on process and story and its curriculum is transdisciplinary and experiential. Thomas Berry, earth scholar, author and teacher, devoted much of his life to understanding our place as humans in the whole of the Universe Story, which for him became a mythic and mystical, as well as scientific, narrative. He asserts that, “Earth’s story is our story. We are a product of the universe and in us the universe is becoming conscious of itself…” The Sacred Universe, Thomas Berry.
One of my favorite quotes by Berry is “The universe is a communion of subjects, not a collection of objects.” Farmers, and those who live close to the land, understand this and know that human economy is inseparable from earth’s own economy. To be truly successful at any endeavor is to live in this larger context.