“Man can no longer live for himself alone. We must realize that all life is valuable and that we are united to all life. From this knowledge comes our spiritual relationship with the Universe.” Albert Schweitzer
Following the same approach with the latest publications on the facts of nature, and man in its context, of the presence of other beings sharing our space on Earth, follows a curious observation about the behavior of a graceful and harmless lizard that inhabits much of the Australian territory.
On this vast continent island, in its westernmost state, there is a small and quiet town of just over 25,000 inhabitants. A paradise of green, exotic and abundant flora and fauna, beautiful and crystal-clear landscapes and beaches; Albany, 500 kilometers south of the capital Perth. The bungalow where I have lived for over 3 years is literally in the middle of the woods, near the beach, where I made my exile and pilgrimage in books and in the sound of music.
It was a complete routine, as routine, discipline and reason are all the phenomena of Nature ... but, daily broken with new facts that came exactly from the surrounding environment, this great sacred book which fascinates, since dawn silently broken by singing birds, to the intense colours of dusk. If it was a rainy day, our sister Natura's brilliance did not fade, for the sun rays of Life as it penetrated the raindrops, opened a majestic and most enchanting exhibitions, the intense rainbow, of which Albany is famous.
And other residents, too, in this harmony of living beings ... and in particular, one of the most venomous and aggressive snakes, the eastern brown, the second most dangerous ... so any wandering in the vicinity was of intense vigilance; In fact, in Australia, inhabit the 10 most venomous snakes on the planet!
But not everything seems dangerous in the world of reptiles!
The backyard was inhabited by the most distinctive native plants, but there was a vegetable being, which I later discovered to be alien on the continent, producing a small edible yellow fruit resembling a mini tomato ... in fact a sweet, juicy, sugary flavour. It is known as a yellow variety of Physalis solanaceae - its scientific name.
One hot afternoon, concentrating on my studies, leaving only a small gap in the glass door - just in case I wasn't surprised by snakes - I heard a distinct rattling, a soft noise on dry straw from the yard. Curious and careful, I ventured slowly to inspect what had happened when I came across a graceful lizard, not giving much attention of my presence, and more focused on delighting its delicacy, from time to time looking at me and shooting me out with its hiss, showing from within a pink mouth, a brightly colored blue tongue! The rattle came from the noise it made to rid the small fruit trapped in its calyx. In fact, the fruit is wrapped in a modified leaf until it ripens, which when dry, partially releases the fruit from within. A kind of natural protection that sister Natura designed to perpetuate the life of this vegetable.
While experiencing the interesting scene, I pondered the attitude of the little animal, almost two-foot-long, its shiny scaly skin colored black, cream, brown, rattling the dry coating until it released the fruit and ate it. Then repeating the task until it was satisfied. For my part, while I ate some myself, I offered to the lizard, who without fearing the proximity of my hands, opened its mouth and ate.
Yellow and bright blue offer a perfect match!
Where did this creature learn to act this way ... how many thousands of years did it take to master this survival technique?
With my spirit even sharper, I went to look for the origins of this plant and some of the life of this graceful being. And it is not to my surprise that I discovered that this fruit was introduced to Australia in the mid-nineteenth century from the Peruvian Andes! So, it was in vain my insipient theory of thousands of years! This sapient little reptile, discovered by itself, that shaking the dry fruit calyx it could release the fruit inside and eat it!
This experience reinforces the idea that the Universe is a great thought. “God doesn't play dice with the Universe,” would say Albert Einstein, this great universal mystic scientist! Meaning that God created a deterministic world and not a probabilistic one. Nothing happens by chance. Absolutely everything has a reason for being. Reason that comes from the Source, the Whole, the Absolute Cosmic Thought.
Therefore, what we can intuit from this lived fact is that the small reptile has a particular intelligence, a reason conditioned to its stage of evolution; but it thinks, has its own individual conscience and the ability to articulate a strategy, for the fruit has been introduced, it is not native of Australia; The action required to open the calyx has been thought of!
To consider man as the crown of creation is to underestimate the importance that other living beings have in the whole of that same creation. We know so little about nonhumans and still do not know how much they offer us. It is to ignore that in the countenance of a nonhuman who does not speak, there is a whole speech that only the wise spirit can comprehend.
“Until man extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, he will not himself find peace.”Albert Schweitzer
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