At the beginning of our first service I told a true story which I have since written out and titled Being a force of nature. Another possible title would be “Ethics is what you decide to do.”

• Evolution is an ascent toward consciousness ( Teilhard de Chardin )
• For we are the local embodiment of a Cosmos grown to self-awareness (Carl Sagan)

During the summer we enjoyed the frequent plop of a particular frog that lived in a little pond outside our bedroom window. It grew quiet large and by early September was of a formidable size. We attached our hearts to this little creature and the familiar sound the water made as it jumped into it. On an early September morning a common garter snake visited the frog’s pond. I watched it for a moment then went about my business. A few moments later a song popped into my brain. It was one I sang to our children - “froggy went a court’en.” The last verse, which I always edited for the children’s sake, or so I said, goes “froggy sailed cross the lake and got eaten up by a big green snake.” The chorus at that point goes “Ah-huh, ah-huh.” I would sing “, uh-ah, uh-ah.” After humming a few bars I quickly went back to the pond. The snake had moved and now the frogs leg was in its mouth. What to do?

Frequently I preach that nature does not care much about the individuals of any particular species. “Why,” I said to myself, “should I interfere in this natural drama and shake the snake and free the frog. Snakes have been eating frogs for a long time. That’s the way it is.” Confused and paralyzed by indecision I went on with other tasks. I couldn’t get the drama out of my head. How could I? I had a relationship with this frog and only moments ago looked it in the eye while the snake had its leg in its mouth. This wasn’t any frog living in a song or a distant pond being eaten by some hypothetical snake. This was the frog whose plop had brought a smile to my face many times as I woke up in the morning or went to bed at night. At that moment I decided to intervene, I didn’t know how, but I had to do something to save the frog. Let that old snake, I thought, eat some out of sight frog.

When I arrived back at the pond the frog was sitting on the rock - all alone - and the snake was out of sight. I sighed with relief and pleasure that I had decided to be a force of nature and ascent enough toward self-consciousness and act to save a relationship.

Blessings,
Stephen