Planet Steward: Journal of a Wildlife Sanctuary is a breathtaking collection written by
author and poet Stephen Levine during is one year stay at a natural sanctuary in Southern
Arizona. Levine describes the land and his experiences in both prose and poetry. Set
during a time of ongoing war and a growing environmental movement, Planet Steward is
as relevant today as it was at the time of its publishing in 1974.
Levine and his family moved to the sanctuary in June of 1969. Levine was given the task
of watching over the land, protecting it from poachers and caring for the animals. It is
clear from reading this book, that Levine took his work as planet steward very seriously.
Each entry and poem is a gentle lesson, taught by example, in planet stewardship. A
sincere reading of Planet Steward awakens a natural aversion to environmental
destruction and violence that exists within us all.
The spiritual nature of this book is a reminder to environmental activists of the need for a
change of perspective, a shift towards mindfulness and reverence, in order to create a
sustainable future. Levine is a Buddhist and views the land he protects as sacred, a
physical manifestation of our true nature. He writes, "One way or another man will see
his spirit reflected in the eyes of his brothers - and in each blade of grass, as the
bodhisattva's vow goes." Levine often uses the Tibetan Buddhist term, Tara, or the
feminine form of bodhisattva, to describe the earth. She is living, a thing to be cared for,
appreciated and spoken to.
Native American spirituality is also present throughout the text. Towards the end of his
time on the sanctuary, Levine preformed an ancient ritual he learned from a local Apache
farmer. Describing this moment, he writes, "There is nothing foreign in this ceremony, a
ritual of man celebrating and affirming life. To find the Apache and the homesteader
within each of us. To be free of partial ways of seeing. To come to the surface, man alive,
rejoicing in his living." Readers of Planet Steward will learn that a spiritual reverence for
the land is not an ancient practice, but instead a forgotten place within our hearts.
"A poet, like a policeman, is always on duty," Levine says. No creature or plant is too
insignificant to capture Levine's creative spirit. Through his poetry and prose, Levine
demonstrates the role of art within the environmental movement. He writes, "How to
communicate the pulsing re-volution which brings man back to his center, life and art
made one through meditative recognition. To invoke mindfulness as a celebration of
stewardship, a survival technique to raise consciousness, to see the divine as it become all
about us." For Levine, the written word is a means of conveying to his and future
generations the importance of a healthy planet to human survival and spiritual realization.
While many passages in Planet Steward focus on the beauty of nature, a significant
portion of the book is dedicated to Levine's reflections on the ways in which humans
harm each other, animals and the land. Written during the Vietnam War, Levine often
compares the destruction of the environment to the horrors of battle. The following is an
excerpt from a poem Levine wrote after finding a bird mortally wounded by a BB gun:
Walking toward the stream,
tears absorbed in high mountain desert,
his back nestled against my palm
his yellow breast turned upward
to the empty sky
Reminding me of the yellow flesh
of ten thousand children burning
in the jungles of Viet Nam.
Reminding me that what killed this bird
kills man
that the trigger finger mind
seeking to prove itself
in the death of another
is the suicide of consciousness,
the dissociation
of man from nature, removed
from his lifestuff percolating through.
That what killed this slowly stiffening bird
kills the planet
kills itself
On the sanctuary, there is a sense of peace and unison that Levine recognizes to be rare,
even in 1969. He urges us to remember that as we treat the land and it's animals, so they
treat us. He writes, "A horse, like a piece of land, responds in direct proportion to the
respect and kindness it is offered. Each willingly offers its energies in response to love."
This lesson rings painfully true today amidst the chaos of climate change, natural
disasters and chronic illness.
However, Planet Steward is primarily a book about change, rebirth and hope. Through
the changing seasons, cycles of birth and death and ever-present beauty, the sanctuary
reminds Levine that there is always hope even in dark times. He writes, "I see a
commune of animal speakers, of vegetarian brothers; a commune of planet consciousness
in the rule of Tao. Not a dream but something to be worked toward: dreamt into action,
made to become real."
According to Levine, universal brotherhood is crucial in helping us understand our
oneness with the planet, with everything. Just as humans alter the earth to fit ideas of
civilization, we also, as a species, use force to change, enslave and murder those who
challenge our perceptions of normalcy. Addressing this sad truth, Levine points readers
to the idea of the "Harmonic Man". In an entry from Thanksgiving Day, the author
writes:
Let us now, sensing ourselves
in each other, look into our brothers' eyes
recognize the native man
behind our modern masks
and know that we are primitives
of an unknown culture
the aborigines of the future,
and from us shall evolve
Harmonic Man.
Levine's words capture nature's ability to move us, to make us change our ways to
preserve its beauty. He shows us that one does not need to be granted a title of planet
steward, as he was, to care for the land. In fact, it is in all of our best interests to act as
caretakers for the earth, its creatures and people. When we care for the earth, it grants us
bounty and good health. It is this direct connection to the planet that will ultimately make
Levine's harmonic man a reality.
By Annie Brown