The reading that I selected from Braiding Sweetgrass for young kids was very brief.
The quote was saying something about how it is easier for the young to feel connected to all of the web of life than it is for the older.
And that the voice of the author hopes that the young may feel the connection to all of the web of living things, not just a connection to humans.
This kind of thing sounds very 'hippy dippy' and kind of cliché. But the reason it sounds cliché is because it is a universal truth which has been often expressed by mystics, sages and hippies from all corners of the earth throughout all time.
It reminds me of a time in my life when I did indeed feel a strong connection to all of the living world and the web of life.
When I returned from being a spiritual seeker in the caves of the Himalayas, I was a wide eyed, open hearted hippy dippy myself.
I remember feeling that I was never along, I was comforted to know that at all times I was connected to the whole web of life of all living beings who I cherished as dearly as I would my own mother.
The quote from the book really brings home the point that this feeling of interconnectedness is more easily felt by the young. This is something that I can relate to, because for me now as an old person, it's a feeling that I can recall but no longer feel.
If every teacher in every classroom were familiar with this viewpoint, sentiment and philosophy, it would benefit every student, because it places the learner in the context of being a member of the family of life itself. A feeling of connection to the totality of creation is a very central place to base from.
If every teacher and classroom applied this philosophy, it would raise a generation of humans who were able to see themselves as a part of rather than aliens to the natural world.
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