These Unwinding Paths of the Great Circle of Life

By: Melina Farahmand

Founder & Owner of Past Present Future Co.

Executive Director: Guardians of Our Democracy

Author of: From Dust to Breath and When the Stars Collide

* The following article was written for a college writing course. *

I sit crisscrossed apple sauce on my bedroom floor and watch in awe as a lion cub is lifted into the air, overlooking the edge of the horizon. Disney's The Lion King taught me a fundamental philosophical lesson from a young age that I've held close to my heart as I experience life on this Earth: all living things share this intertwined connection through the great circle of life. From the grass to the trees and the animals that feed upon them, up through the tiers of the chain we go. When Mufasa explains to Simba how, "When we die, our bodies become the grass. And the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life,” he is illustrating how this delicate process works because one day Simba will too pass on that knowledge to the next generation. All organisms contribute to this cycle. This idea of a shared experience extends to every living thing. In our discussion about Julia Butterfly and the Redwood Trees she so fervently protected, I see a connection to a critical argument about advocating for our shared land. While her methods are more radical than some are willing to do, there is much to learn about how she views trees as something we should keep safe from harm. As caretakers, we should show more concern for the things occurring around us and move away from an anthropocentric mindset. We should place value in nature not only because of what it provides us but for its place in these unwinding paths of the circle of life. What we do has the power to impact the lives of others — people and animals alike. Ultimately, we go on slightly different paths, but all end up in the same place, which connects us. The message from the film extends to my ethical views on our shared environment and how I live my life to protect it, not destroy it. I intend to leave things better than I found them, which is part of my moral code concerning the environment. I urge every individual to consider their ethical views regarding the environment. My three main principles are never to take more than I need, to share with others when I can, and to leave things better than when I found them. 

Through course materials, I learned about Kimmerer, an Indigenous woman who writes that the land her people lived on is something they view as "the connection to our ancestors, the home of our nonhuman kinfolk, our pharmacy, our library, the source of all that sustained us. Our lands are when our responsibility to the world was enacted" (17). In a class discussion post, I discussed how Kimmerer's views on reciprocity are based on a cycle of "giving and taking" (20), essentially a mutually beneficial relationship where one organism benefits the other and vice versa. There is an equilibrium in this connection. This concept ties in with one of my ethical principles of sharing what I can when I'm able, so others can partake in this honorable harvest and hoping they will do the same in return for me (a mutually beneficial relationship of sharing). We are taught to share from a young age, but this idea of sharing as part of an ethical harvest is something I learned about more in-depth in my high school environmental courses. My teacher highlighted the issue of resource depletion and lack of shared resources among people. In one of our conversations after I graduated, she said something that stuck with me about environmental scientists. At the profession's core, it's not about data or experiments. It's about caring for other people; we aren't only tree huggers trying to save the world, but we are trying to help other people. With climate change, we see ecosystem destruction, leading to many having no food or other resources. By sharing what we already have, we can reduce our strain on the planet and care for each other. After all, we are on the same path, just at different points. In practice, for our society, this could look like giving extra food or clothes you don’t need to a neighbor or friend. In turn, this could reduce food waste and promote sharing among those around us.

Highlighting one of the four cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance) we learned about, my second ethic involves leaving things better than I found. This moral, ecological principle ties in with virtues like prudence or practical wisdom. The cardinal virtues are similar to land-based knowledge (Indigenous practices and beliefs). I wish we listened more to the wisdom of indigenous people when thinking of ways to protect our planet. They generally view things through a multifaceted lens seen here in Kimmerer's writing. I chose to include that quote of Kimmerer’s because it embodies the critical notion of how things are connected through the circle of life. Here Kimmerer is acknowledging the cycle for which everything is sustained through the land and sharing how special that is for us to experience. This Earth is worth protecting and a gift we should take great care of. My views on leaving things better than we found them comes from seeing trash on our beaches and trails, pollution in our air, and destroying our forests. As the expression goes, we should leave only our footprints in the sand and nothing else. If we see something that is not right, we fix it. As caretakers of this world, we should leave things better than when we inherited them, not just for the next generation but out of respect for the planet. 

Since every living thing on Earth is somehow connected, this idea of reciprocity and the honorable harvest are ethically valuable concepts to consider implementing in our lives. Never taking more resources than one needs is a practical way to hold an honorable harvest. And if there is ever a time when you do, make sure to share with others who could use it more than you. Care for the gifts we have been given, and the most straightforward way I would apply that practically and would encourage others to do the same is by taking care of our shared resources; water the soil, clean up after yourself, don't litter, and leave things better than when you found them.” The circle of life is a never-ending legacy we pass on throughout the generations for people and the land; that legacy is seen in how life cycles. Plants grow and die, water evaporates and comes down, and animals are born and die. To leave behind a legacy that embodies good virtues and ethical principles requires work. When we never take more than we need, share our resources with others, and respect the land we live on by leaving it better than we inherited it, we ensure a legacy worth remembering is left. 

Throughout the remainder of this course, I pledge to continue practicing these concepts and find small acts of change that I can implement to better the planet and be a person of good moral character.