Day 20 - Ambika Jain

A story for my lovelies,
 
I hope you feel this one day. This immense connectedness with all life. For me, that feeling is what has kept me most hopeful even in the darkest of moments.
 
The Island Breathes Hope
Long ago, in the middle of the sea, there was an island. Lush with green, heavy with fruit, alive.
Birdsong filled the air, blooms painted the land, waves lapped the sea. Everything existed in balance.
 
One day, a human swam to the island, curious to see what it was all about. The equilibrium shifted.
 
Animals paused with instinctive caution. Petals drew inward.
Waves slowed. Birds silenced.
 
The human looked around and saw abundance to be claimed—food, wealth, shelter for his family.
The land a thing to take, the trees timber, the animals flesh.
 
But with a gentle breath, the island whispered — the simplest things are the most beautiful.
 
The simple truth: all life is interconnected, each part depending on the others. The sun shines, clouds gather, rain falls;
The earth drinks, rivers carry minerals, seeds grow into plants; Insects pollinate, plants breathe, animals breathe.
Fallen ones nourish the soil. Life feeds life.

Remove any part of this intricate web, and all are impacted. And no matter our species, we share the same hopes--
clean air, fresh water, food, good health, safety, connection, love, joy, purpose
 
The hopes of one species are not superior to another.
A human child and a fox cub joyfully leaping through the snow are no different. A mother cow cries for her taken young, just like any mother.
Even a small ant works purposefully, building homes the size of castles.

In all these hopes, we are one.

And when this was understood through quiet reflection— the human no longer saw things as other,
no longer as something to be taken, used, or exploited, but instead felt his place within the living tapestry.
 
Awareness and intention replaced ignorance and impulse; balance returned, and the island breathed.
Hope arises when we notice our interconnectedness— when we remember we are all part of this beautiful weave.
 
Collectively we rise and fall, threads tugged and loosened, then gently rewoven into new, beautiful creations.
 
Life is shared amongst all species, all parts of the same,
here on the island
and beyond its shores.
 
 
So, my lovelies, find connections in the simplest things.
Notice the intricate venation tracing through each leaf, and how it mirrors the veins in your hands or the river deltas of Earth. Appreciate the scales of a pine cone, the spirals of a seashell, the whorl of hair on a baby’s scalp.
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Be in awe of the millions of things that had to have happened, the ancestors that visited before you, and the thousands of choices that had to be made, for you to be in this exact moment—right here, right now.
 
That interconnectedness is hope. It is knowing that no matter what is happening, we are the same as all life—part of this wonderful, messy, joyous tapestry together.
 
Love,
your mama.
(Ambika Jain, Toronto, Ontario)