Ecosystems as Expressions of Compassion: Redefining Love

Katariina Malkamäki
Apr 6, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Apr 9, 2024

In a time during which the gap between human societies and the natural world continues to expand, reflecting on the concepts of compassion and interconnectedness is not only timely, but also crucial. In this blog we’ll explore a narrative, which invites us to move past a human-centred view of love and compassion, encouraging us to recognise these qualities in our surrounding ecosystems as well, noticing the intricate relationships of care and support that exist beyond human interaction.

The era we currently live in is marked by a profound tragedy: the sixth mass extinction – a manifestation of the deeply broken bond between humans and the rest of the natural world. This disconnect from the ecosystems surrounding us, is not only an ecological crisis but a spiritual one too. To be human means to be interwoven with one’s surroundings, to live and be a part of an ecosystem, to respect and nurture it. We have dismissed this part of us and it’s led to an ecological crisis and also contributed to a mental health one. Andreas Weber writes beautifully about this, urging us to move past our individualistic desires and contribute to the vitality of the ecosystems that we are a part of. These ecosystems nurture us when we nurture and respect them.

This view challenges us to remove the walls we’ve built not only among humans, but also between us and the natural world.

Transcending Dualism with Compassion

bell hooks’ ideas on love underline the idea of moving past dualism and they help us recognise the separateness in our society, working back to a feeling of oneness within human relationships but also with our surroundings. “To commit to love is fundamentally to commit to a life beyond dualism. That's why love is so sacred in a culture of domination, because it simply begins to erode your dualisms: dualisms of black and white, male and female, right and wrong.”

This is especially powerful in a society characterised by divisions – racial, gender, political and many more. Love, in its most genuine form, can help us erase these divisions and it cultivates a unity that defies conventional categorisations. This view challenges us to remove the walls we’ve built not only among humans, but also between us and the natural world.

Challenging the Anthropocentric point of view

The traditional anthropocentric perspective, which places human experiences and bonds above everything else, limits our ability to grasp the full spectrum of love and compassion. This restricted viewpoint diminishes our experiences of these universal emotions and legitimises the exploitation of our planet, leading to environmental degradation and various forms of social injustice. By adopting a broader outlook, we come to understand that compassion and care are present everywhere in the natural world. This wider appreciation recognises love in the symbiotic relationships that sustain ecosystems, in nature’s resilience in the face of challenges, and in the fundamental interconnectedness of all beings.

By widening our concept of love to encompass the networks and expressions of interconnectedness in nature, we cultivate a deeper, more nuanced understanding of this concept – one that highlights the dynamics of giving and receiving that underpin life itself.

Ecology as Compassionate Interconnectedness

By viewing ecosystems as networks where plants, organisms, animals and humans live in symbiosis, each giving something to the other, we start to realise the depth of these networks. By observing and engaging with nature, we can learn invaluable lessons about coexistence, balance, and sustainable living. This insight deepens our connection to the natural world, inspiring us to further deepen these relationships. This also deeply challenges the values engrained in us by capitalistic thinking, where we should extract and take as much as possible.

A Call to extend Compassion Beyond Human Interaction

It is crucial to reevaluate our relationship with the natural environment. This reevaluation calls for humility, curiosity and openness. We need to acknowledge that acts of compassion and love extend well beyond human interactions. By widening our concept of love to encompass the networks and expressions of interconnectedness in nature, we cultivate a deeper, more nuanced understanding of this concept – one that highlights the dynamics of giving and receiving that underpin life itself.

As we address the ecological and social challenges of our time, I encourage you to redefine compassion as both an ecological and spiritual principle. This principle connects us with each other and with the Earth. This approach not only tackles the urgent crises of our age but also reconnects us with the higher aspect of our being, urging us to live in harmony with the intricate ecosystems that we too are a part of. Through this contemplation we start to naturally view nature in the way our ancestors did and in the way that indigenous people still do – as an entity which we are a part of, which gives us life and which we need to honour and nurture.