What is our Purpose in the Circle of Life?

With our beautifully diverse and intricate ecological systems facing significant degradation, wildlife species rapidly declining at alarming rates, as well as increasing demands on our natural water resources, forests and oceans across our world, recognizing our dependence on nature for our survival as one part of this greater circle of life is a vital necessity towards a sustainable future for us all.

Photo by NASA

What is sustainability?

Sustainability is recognising our interconnection and dependence upon our ecosystems for survival; we, as human beings, are one part of a greater circle of life.

For instance, our life is not just our own, we are not ‘alone’ or ‘separate’ from the world around us – our every breath is dependent on our trees. Trees inhale what we exhale, transforming carbon dioxide into the oxygen we need to breathe air for survival. Forests also provide resources for food, materials, and other traditional practices. 

Then there’s our sun, which radiates light and heat for life to exist, as plants need sunlight to grow. In turn, we are dependent on plants for food and, again, for the oxygen we breathe.

Our rivers are crucial for our survival as they provide fresh water for drinking, sanitation, supply a source of fish as a vital protein for many communities, nourish entire ecosystems and provide important habitats for native plants and animals.

We are also inherently dependent on our native wildlife for a multitude of reasons, including as a source of our food, medicine, and other essential ecosystem needs, such as soil health, natural pest and disease control, water regulation, etc.

Without our air, sun, oceans, rivers, wetlands, forests, plants and a wide range of animals and microorganisms that have existed over billions of years, we wouldn't have the healthy ecosystems needed to sustain life.

Why is sustainability important?

While human beings are dependent on nature for our survival, it is crucially important to realise that nature - our air, sun, forests, rivers and wildlife systems – is not dependent on humans.

So when we exploit our ecosystems and don’t care about how our individual, social and global choices and actions directly impact the world around us as one interconnected whole, it greatly deteriorates our surrounding natural ecosystems, placing our ongoing survival (with basic needs for air, water, food and energy resources) and quality of life at risk, now and for our future generations.

Where we are at now: a stark reminder

To be able to fully comprehend the impacts of where we are now as a humanity, take a look at some unequivocal facts and evidence (Published by NASA).

“Tree of life” genetic map showcasing humanities (“homo sapiens” of the primate branch) place as one part of a whole circle of 2.3 million species of animals, plants, fungi and microbe life.

What is our purpose on Earth?

This raises the fundamental question: “If nature is not dependent on humanity, what is the need and purpose for humans?”

While nature is not entirely dependent on human beings, understanding our place and dependence upon this greater circle of life (see above genetic map) for survival is a powerful and humbling reminder of our responsibility to preserve and protect our natural world.

One fundamental aspect that nature depends upon the good morality of humans, however, is as we have become so far out of balance with our ecosystems, through mass deforestation, wildlife and habitat loss, pollution and the over-exploitation of resources for economic profit, nature needs our reciprocal care to ensure the ongoing continuation of life as we know it.

To ensure this continuation, we must return to our role as caretakers and stewards, as our sacred human responsibility and purpose for living on this earth.