Symbiotic or Parasite?

What an intriguing concept. I had a thought that I wanted to share. I would love to hear what you think.

Can you imagine the world as being a living organism? Our globe is an ecosystem that has lots of activity on it. There is life galore! It is exactly like life forms here on the globe. Some life forms have other life forms on or in it that are dependent on the host.

I think about those antelopes in Africa that have little birds always on them, pecking at insects. I think about the small fish that latch onto larger fish and eat the parasites that gather around the eyes and body of the host. I think of the bacteria that live in our gut that we have to have active in order to process food and survive. All of these are examples of symbiotic relationships that depend upon each other for survival. The host needs the other organism and the other organism needs the host.

Then I think about parasites that invade a host and suck the life out of it. When the host dies, so does the invading organism. What a strange life form It only lives to destroy and then dies when it successfully destroys its host! The Ash Borer is the latest in the news these days. Cancer could be considered another example in a way. Cancer cells split and reproduce at the expense of the host organism. When the host dies, so does the cancer!

I think it is safe to say that man is a huge presence on the globe (and growing). The question is, are we a parasite or do we live in a symbiotic relationship with the globe? I think we used to live symbiotically until recently. Now, I think we are actually a destructive parasitical infestation that is destroying its host. We need to stop our tendencies to live as parasites (taking away from the host and not replenishing or allowing for the replenishing of resources) and return to living symbiotically.

Some think that symbiotic living includes making changes to “enhance” natural phenomena. There is danger in that. It can be a slippery slope. We need to exercise caution and review carefully what actions we take and consider what will be the impact on future generations and on nature in general. It is a good guideline to look at least seven generation ahead as some aboriginal peoples did in the past.

Let us be symbiotic, and not parasites.