Detail of The Creation of Adam, by Michelangelo
I grew up very religious, but I yearned for something more. In high school l channeled this yearning by running alongside the Hudson. Now into my second year here at Paul Smith’s College, I’m learning how important a spiritual sensibility is to fully understanding and seeing a biotic community.
For me, these stirrings of an Ecological Conscience didn’t start with trips to the Adirondacks, the White, or Rocky Mountains. It didn’t involve someone helping me put on waders, load my gun, or hike for endless hours. It started in the wilderness that is Troy, NY. The wilderness of the Adirondacks and the wilderness of the Capital Region are very similar. The only difference is the landscape. In Troy we have replaced the beloved Adirondack pine with smoke stacks of industrialism. The green spaces in my city tend to be as good as Dollar General ice cream: subpar and usually filled with trash.
Growing up in a place that has little to no biotic community forced me to rebel against the conventional acceptance of industrialized landscape. This rebellion has brought me to Paul Smith’s College. I am currently in Craig Milewski’s Stirring of an Ecological Conscience course, which is trying to integrate scientific understanding and philosophical interpretation.
The Pope’s Climate Ambassadors are arriving on our campus this Saturday, to help create this integration through contemplative understanding, by looking at Climate Change as a moral issue. Whether we look at Climate Change through the lens of a scientist or a philosopher, creating radical change to help educate and adapt, is common ground that can bring us all together.
“A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire.”- Thomas Merton
Read More about the Climate Change Ambassadors’ visit: Pope Francis’ climate ambassadors to convene at Paul Smith’s College, by Bob Bennett.
Tyler Fisk is an editor for the Apollos! Check out his information here -> About our staff