As a final post on this Pandemic process of prayer, now the day before Thanksgiving, we can go one step further in our awareness of the Oneness of Life on our planet. Earth life is more than human beings. We are interdependent not just on each other, but the whole of nature as well. While the exact source of the original Covid-19 virus is still not known, research points to crossover DNA/RNA from the animal world, with it first spreading to yet another species, and then to humans. Whether that was a natural event, whether that somehow involved a human laboratory process, whether the ecological changes that have occurred through human population growth and encroachment on natural habitats or climate change has anything to do with it--these questions have not been answered, and may not be answerable. But the fact that they are raised is a powerful reminder that we share the planet with animal, insect, microbial and plant life, that is impacted by one another.
Our future has always been, and will continue to be, dependent on the ways in which we relate to other species and the forces of nature in one way or another. So as a final prayer in this process, we can affirm the totality of life as we understand it and recognize that it's vastness is far beyond the scale and scope of human knowledge. We ask and accept for new ideas and new understanding, new guidance and approaches to living in this complex, amazing abundance of Life's expression. We let our hearts acknowledge the beauty and wonder of Life and offer both respect and care for the magnificent living forms of this Earth. We add our trust of Life's ability to heal all that needs healing, as it changes, adapts, and continues to thrive, and as we, as human being, listen, learn, and act as agents of healing. Thank you God, for a new sense of meaning and depth and responsiveness to this unfolding Earth that arises from the Pandemic of 2020. And so it is. Amen. (Susan Nettleton)