We should at least give it a go

After our contact with Nature through mountain climbing and visiting the tea plantation, we attended a two-day workshop on Spiritual Ecology at the Sacred Heart Spirituality Center (聖心靈修中心) in New Taipei City. 

The workshop was designed with reference to Pope Francis’ encyclical letter “Care for Our Common Home” and included the use of the geological elements of the Sacred Heart campus. It consisted of various sessions on knowledge input, reflection and sharing as well as green outings.

The theme on the first day was “On Trees”. We first underwent meditation training, during which we were guided to develop an awareness of our relationship with trees on an imaginary tour in a wooded area. We then had an actual walk among the trees on the campus, observing and touching them, praying and feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit in the form of an occasional breeze blowing through them. Later in the afternoon, guided by Miss Yuen, we planted young shoots in pots to experience the joy of tree planting. We thus came to know that there are things we can do to maintain a good relationship with the environment and also with the people around us. An experiment on pomelos’ skin in the production of a liquid cleanser also convinced us to cut down on the use of harmful chemicals in our daily lives.

Another focus of the workshop was the appreciation of Nature’s beauty and the natural balance of the earth’s ecosystem. Through meditation, we were guided to admire the flowers blooming, swaying in the wind, falling and then regenerating. We also spent some time strolling round the campus, where there were sites reminiscent of Gospel teaching. For example, the Good Shepherd Park made us think of Psalm 23. The pond with lotuses growing was a living proof of what is known as a pond ecosystem. There were also a few rocks where we could sit and enjoy a few silent prayerful moments.

Having watched a video about the flight of birds, we meditated on a few questions based on it. The questions initiated thinking about our attitude towards life. We reflected on how we responded to life’s ups and downs, whether we enjoyed working singly or jointly with others and whether we had ever experienced God’s companionship in our journey through life.

On the whole, the workshop enabled us to have a better understanding of the message from the encyclical letter “Care for Our Common Home”. We were particularly enlightened to ponder his advice on ecological conversion: “More than in ideas or concepts as such, I am interested in how such a spirituality can motivate us to a more passionate concern for the protection of our world.[151] 

Now that the ecological spirituality tour is over and life is back to normal, we must ensure ourselves of a reformed lifestyle, one that is in agreement with what our Pope refers to as an “ecological conversion”, in appreciation of "our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork. [217]  This cannot be easy but we should at least give it a go.