I had this thought this morning, that worship is the key to life. Now, I know when I think about worship, and maybe others join me in this, I think of churches, I think of sitting in pews. It's sort of a ritualistic thing that I’ve done, and that's one approach to worship, I think. The other that comes to mind is supplication, where we're bowing down, we're becoming less than the object of our devotion, minimizing our importance, and making the object of our devotion more important. And that's an approach I’ve done, as well.
 
But there's a third, which sort of gets intermingled with the others, but I don't think it's really thought of in the right way, or it's not understood completely, is maybe a better way of saying this. But the other part of worship is praise. And praise, in my opinion, is really the heart of worship. Really appreciating deeply, with great gratitude, the other. 
 
I think that's really important because everything is other. When we think of worship, we tend to exclude everything else except one, especially in the Western world where we have a single deity.
 
I believe that the living world worships constantly. It functions in a state of great appreciation for the other, with immense gratitude, and curiosity, and awe at what the other can manage that it itself cannot. And that is true for every single living thing on the planet. We all, every living thing on the planet, has this superpower, something only it can do. And so worship is the process of noticing that in the other and being deeply, euphorically, joyously happy that that exists, and then expressing that feeling. That's what praise is about. It's not hollow. It's not sanctimonious. It's the actual recognition of the gift the other offers and being aware of how astounding that is and how precious.
 
So think a moment about how that would change your life. If you notice the water coming out of your tap and how amazing it is. Water is just astonishingly awesome. Or you notice the cricket on the front step and begin to really appreciate how amazing a creature it is. How perfectly oriented to its place on the planet it is. How much it contributes to life on the planet. And if you don't understand that, then maybe a little research is in order. Every living critter contributes to life on the planet. That in itself is awesome and worthy of a song of praise.
 
To begin to live our days with a deep appreciation of the tree in front, of the rose bush at the side of the house, of the way we're able to communicate using technology. Ah, yes. I could say more about technology, but I still appreciate it when it truly serves, and I would be very sad to lose the internet. We are gifted all the time with amazing things. When we take the life in our world for granted or dismiss them as unimportant or beneath us in some way, we not only diminish our relationships with them, we diminish ourselves. We only become part of the cycle of life when we're in gratitude, when we appreciate the other, when we're open and responsive to the needs of the other, which only comes through gratitude and appreciation.
 
By being blind to the magnificence of life, we create our own sense of ennui, our own sense of loss, and being more or less a boat adrift in the sea because we're not connected. Connection only comes through appreciation, through gratitude, through wonder. 
 
Those avenues of expression allow for reciprocity. We are not, as a species, very involved in reciprocity amongst ourselves, let alone the rest of the planet. I do find that other cultures other than the Western culture, however, tend to be more in tune with reciprocity, at least in terms of their own family or their tribal or community situation. But it sort of gets tattered at the edges when it expands beyond immediate experience. Not always. We're very generous to other people and cultures under strife and stress. That opens up a little piece of reciprocity. But that pore opens and closes. It's not a constant stream.
 
I think we feel that a constant stream of giving would be depleting in some way. And I think that's true if we think of it as a constant stream of giving. But reciprocity is a circle. It's a cycle. It's a give and a take. It is NOT a give and take, it’s a give and receive – receiving is very different from taking. We tend to think of it in a linear process. I give, you receive, but it's a nonlinear process. You give and I give to somebody else and receive from a third party. 
 
It's that open exchange, open responsiveness that keeps those juices going. And that, for me, is an act of worship. Reciprocity is definitely an act of worship. It is really recognizing both the gift and the need in the other and stepping in to fill that gap, however that looks.
 
I do believe that being in a space of worship is a key to life. It is what stimulates our sense of meaningfulness, of purpose. We begin to feel a part of the whole, so our sense of belonging is stimulated. We feel so empty, us in the Western world, especially the white us in the Western world. So much at sea, so much at a loss for knowing why we're here. And that's only because we don't understand our place, our ability to be in relationship, to be singing the praises of the rest of the world around us. 
 
If we all sung each others praises, then I believe the song of the planet that C.S. Lewis once called the song of the spheres would be something that our planet would resonate with, and we would become a voice in the universe that truly champions life and resonates the glory that life offers us in terms of our own experience.
 
To think about it, how would being in a state of worship change your life?

 
Design is a very human thing to do. It's one-way we humans express ourselves and make our mark in the world. Because of this, design is often not only human centric, it’s egocentric. The hubris and ego that is often involved in design of any kind, particularly architecture, makes it very hard to even understand what it means to design with nature.
 
Biomimicry has been a fabulous invention. The very act of getting businesses to think about nature as a resource has moved our relationship with nature light years into the future. We have become very clever now by watching and seeing what nature does we then try to do it in our own way, bending nature's wisdom to our needs and desires. One of the real benefits of this approach has been the ability to at least think about minimizing our resource use, nature is very thrifty. However, designing with nature is a whole different approach.
 
In designing with nature, it becomes apparent that nature needs space, so we need to allow nature to exist, to coexist, to be in proximity, to interpenetrate the spaces we use. In actual practice, this means making sure the green expands instead of our habit of reducing or controlling anything green. We must begin paying attention to nature's health, as well as our own health.
 
Nature needs time, it's not rushed. It's sometimes slow, it may even meander. It needs to be supported in this by having the space, the opportunity, to take the time that it needs to flower, to come into fruition, to blossom. We need to be conscious of the cycles it needs to function in and allow for the changes, over time, that nature brings forth. Our addiction to standards, stagnant appearances, simplified expressions, and easily repeated designs don't fit in with natures exuberance.
 
There's an exuberance about nature, a joyous expression of creativity that doesn't tolerate standards or constraints or stability or repetition. The recognition, expectation, openness to spontaneity, to emergence requires trusting the process, and loosening our attachment to outcomes. We need to design with emergence in mind and allow for the evolution of the design as real life contributes.
 
Working with nature is not an event, it's a journey. It's an exploration. It's a collaboration. It may be a cycle, but it's rarely an event. We get caught in events, but with nature, it's always part of a process.
 
Understanding the processes and patterns of nature and recognizing the need for that kind of expression is a way of being in tune and creating harmony with what's existing and with what wants to appear. In any dance, there's a leader and a follower. Allowing nature to lead can give us the confidence, the trust, and the feeling of safety that we crave, if we understand nature and how she works. Trust is not about blind faith, but in being confident enough to ask questions, and seek examples to put our concerns to rest. It’s about learning to see situations through Earth’s eyes.
 
Listening to nature requires the patience and depth to be in silence, enough grounding in science to understand the processes and cycles, and a depth in working with systems to see the patterns nature enjoys. The biggest shift, however, is putting nature first. By keeping the serpentine bend in rivers, water can serve the entire ecosystem. By allowing for flood plains, water can nurture vast areas on a continual basis. Our ability to ‘straighten’ rivers, put them in concrete beds, bury them underground and divert them hundreds of miles, subverts their nature and purpose. When we claim land to serve our own desires, we put ourselves in a situation of continually fighting with nature, which becomes costly, both financially and emotionally.
 
Nature LOVES life! By trusting that we can develop a harmony with nature, one that is especially needed as the Earth rebalances to adjust to the changes we have mindlessly made, we create resilience and robust health. Working together, we can co-create a new normal, one that serves us both.
 

The song of bacteria.
So just imagine,
The very first life on the planet, a very tiny, a single cell of bacteria.
And over time those bacteria begin to dance with each other.
And so, as I'm thinking, not only did they dance with each other,
They changed.
They shifted.
They weren't all the same.
Even a single-celled critters.
There were many different kinds of single-celled critters.
And it was that difference that really allowed them to dance with each other
Because they each brought a benefit that the other didn't have.
So in that dancing, they combined.
They became two-celled organisms.
And three-celled and multi-celled.
And then they became us.


We are… 30,000 different kinds of bacteria,
Bacteria,
And viruses.
With billions and trillions of each one,
Billions of different kinds.
And it's those critters that make it possible for us as an entity,
As a being to live.
The mitochondria in our cells that give us energy have no DNA relationship with us at all. They are totally separate critters.
Doing their own thing.
And by doing their own thing, they bring us to life.
That's awesome.


So, the song of the bacteria.
The oldest living things on the planet.
The living things with the most experience at life.
The living things who have experienced the most on this planet.
The most life.


What would they have to tell us?
One of the things we know about bacteria is that they are constantly exchanging DNA with each other.
You get any two together and they go swap.
Let's shift.
Let's change.
Let's see what happens.
That's where their resilience comes from.
Because they're so open to new,
So open to experimenting,
So open to sharing and exchanging what they know with each other,
In embracing that newness, they are able to adjust and adapt
Instantly, almost.
To any change that comes their way.
And that has become one of their secrets for longevity.


I am wondering, as a human being,
If our very sense of identity gets in the way of our evolution.
Certainly,
Bacteria are free to evolve and have been free to evolve and have become amazing things. They've become mastodons.
And Tyrannosaurus Rex.
And skinks and ants.
And all sorts of creatures.
Even plants.
So, they are garnering an incredible array of understanding of life.
And against that, I wonder if our understanding pales.


When we think of ourselves.
Consciousness is one of our defining traits.
And consciousness is what we think about in terms of God and deities.
And consciousness is what we think about as the foundation
Of the universe.
We are learning that everything is conscious.
To some extent.
Everything has the ability to make choices.
And is constantly choosing,
in fact.
Everything is sentient.


Water on this planet is a magical substance.
That many equate with consciousness.
For water is truly what makes life possible.
Even for bacteria.
And water is everywhere.
We find it everywhere in the universe.
So, could water be one of the carriers of consciousness
Or the carrier of consciousness?


And how does the consciousness of this thing we call bacteria that
Has such a variety,
Is so voracious in its love for life,
Is so exquisite in its ability to mutate and change,
And adapt and adapt and adapt due to difference.
How is that consciousness different
From our consciousness?
From our consciousness which struggles to understand our role in our planet,
Let alone our universe?
Our consciousness, which fears beings from outer space
Which fears others who know more than we do, and certainly
I would think bacteria know more than we do.


What an interesting thing to think about!
The song of the bacteria,
And how that song sweeps through our world.
Is it on other worlds?
We have no way of knowing.
Are bacteria unique to our world, or are they everywhere?
If they're everywhere, how do they go from place to place?
How does that happen?
Is the memory of that carried in water?
Is it water that makes that happen?
Because the water knows.
That is a song for another time.




~ Kathryn Alexander MA – April 2025