What is Animism?

Animism is the belief that all things contain a spark of divinity not just humans and that all things are connected by this spark. That means that what we do to our environment and the things in our environment we do to ourselves and in order to be the best versions of ourself we can be, we must honor all aspects of ourselves from the smallest creature, to the trees, the land and of course other human beings. In essence it is remembering how to be human. Our world has become so self centered and disconnected that we have forgotten that we are not alone, that we are never alone. I remember throughout my life whenever I was upset I would go to the water. I found the water soothing and calm like a friend that always listened to my problems without burdening me with theirs. I was free to speak my mind to the water, I could dip my toes in the water and in that moment I connected with the spirit of the water who just washed away all my worries. Today our waters are polluted by us. The healing spirit of the water tarnished by the pollution cannot support us as it once did. Where once we could submerge our bodies in the saltwater of the ocean to heal our physical wounds now just a fraction of its former self cannot heal as it once did.

Everyone talks about global warming well I remember a time when I played outside for hours and when I got too hot I would sit under a tree. While John is driving I put my arm out the window and I can feel the temperature drop between where there are trees and where there is only concrete. Trees not only provide us with shade to cool our environment but also support cleaning the air we breathe. The Sun provides the life energy everything including us need to grow. The Moon supports the tides, the animals clean our environment and tend to the land. Everything has a purpose and without any one part their purpose falls on us to fulfill thereby burdening us with yet another task to fulfill. Some say that science or technology can fill these gaps but the truth is when we destroy our environment, the land, the animals we will have destroyed ourselves as well. Because science and technology are man-made there is no spark of divinity within it, it is not us, it is our creation to replace us.