Dear friends,
As we celebrate 2024 Earth Day, I am struck by all the controversy concerning Artificial Intelligence. I share many of the concerns, but there are many ways that A.I. could be a positive force for our future. It potentially will offer new ways to understand our environmental challenges and potentially offer solutions not currently seen.
But I would like to speak about another type of A.I., nature's Actual Intelligence.
I have been very fortunate over my 40 years with Omega to have worked with many leaders in the environmental movement. There is one person that stands out for me and that is Dr. John Todd. I first met John more than 25 years ago when he presented at a conference hosted by Omega’s Center for Sustainable Living.
At that conference, I presented John with a troubling issue we were dealing with at Omega: How can we safely and efficiently process our wastewater going forward? I gave John our three desires for a future system: low energy, no chemical treatment, and a way for people to get up close to wastewater so they could understand the major role they play in this natural process. Those conversations with John led to the creation of Omega’s own Eco MachineTM, an all-natural water reclamation system that is essentially nature’s way of purifying wastewater with microorganisms and plants.
John’s lifetime of observing natural processes has given him a deep understanding of the integrated interdependent living systems that make up our existence. By “our” I mean you, me, all living creatures, trees, water, soil, and all that makes up this beautiful earth.
I recently visited John at his home in Massachusetts. You know how nice it can be to see an old friend after some time has passed. It was wonderful to sit with him, and even now at 85, hear about all his projects. Later in the afternoon we visited a spot where the ocean meets an inland marsh. Standing there—taking in the smell of the ocean, the sounds of water and birds—was John’s way of showing me how nature demonstrates systems.
In his book Healing Earth, John writes that “a deep and abiding partnership” with the actual Intelligence of nature holds the answers for us as we look to move forward as stewards of the environment. He has spent his life sitting with nature, next to the stream, translating natural processes into solutions for some of our most difficult pollution and environmental problems.
An Earth Day practice
For this Earth Day I have a suggestion: Take 15 minutes to put away your mobile phone and find a place to sit in nature. That can be anywhere—a park, a forest, or under a tree in a city, as natural systems are everywhere and everything. Sit, quiet yourself, listen, and observe.
Take in deeply what is happening around you. Experience the systems that hold it all together and inform life—the sun, the wind, the birds singing, all of it. Then feel your heart beating and know that it is that shared intelligence that is the actual intelligence of life and nature itself.
At the base of John’s teaching is the belief that the more we understand that we are part of an amazing living system, the better our decisions and way of living will be. I share his belief.
As we struggle with significant issues, from temperature rise to plastics degrading the environment, the actual intelligence of nature holds the answers. The more we feel that we are actually part of all living systems, the greater our possibility and the deeper the necessary healing of ourselves and the Earth will be.
Thank you, John, for your teaching and life wisdom.
I am hopeful! Happy Earth Day!
With gratitude,
Omega CEO Emeritus & OCSL Founder
