Emily Anstett 11/8/2022 Class Reflection

 I think it is interesting to consider the cyclic nature of life, where in order to survive people or animals take part in something else’s death.  In reality, animals and humans cannot survive without something dying whether that be the death of an animal or a plant.  Humans are sustained by something else being sacrificed.  I think this illustrates the importance of showing gratitude to what died in order to sustain us. I enjoyed Gary Snyder’s poems that described saying thank you to the spirits of the animals that die to sustain us.  This may be helpful to solving the nature-culture divide.  By acknowledging what was sacrificed it helps foster gratitude and appreciation.  However, this could be problematic by begging the question of how showing gratitude to animals and plants feeding us impacts what we think nature’s purpose is? Nature’s purpose is not solely to provide humans.  It is important to also see the value of the environment beyond what it can do for us.  However, showing gratitude would be a good first step towards appreciating it as a part of a greater system that we as humans are also a part of.  This might help illuminate how humans are just as much a part of the environment and an overall system as other organisms, humans are not above or beyond it. 

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