CoSM Symbiosis

Dear Friends,

Preparing for the Symbiosis festival to be held in Yosemite, California this weekend, we were considering the concept of symbiosis and learned about the gall wasp. This cousin to a bee lays its eggs on a naked leaf, prey to wind, rain and insect predators. The tree graciously protects the wasp egg by growing a womb to surround each individual ova. The bulging ball or wart on the tree's leaf signals the presence of a developing gall wasp. When the egg is fully grown, the hatchling eats its way out of the protective shell provided by the tree. What could motivate a tree to host a gall wasp? According to Rudolph Steiner's amazing book "Bees," European farmers have always known that trees hosting gall wasps bear fruit that is qualitatively sweeter than those trees that have not been gall wasp hosts. Farmers bring wasps to their fruit bearing trees in order to have the sweetest fruit. The wasp, the tree and the farmer are all in a symbiotic relationship.



Symbiosis is an opportunity to see the compassionate oneness manifesting through the nature field. Symbiosis is an everyday miracle proving that interdependence is a strategy for evolution. Evolution flourishes both through competition -- survival of the fittest, and symbiosis -- a close and often long-term relationship between species. Each species, from single celled organisms to primates, strive to be the best they can be, while at the same time existing in direct interdependence with many other life forms and truly in relationship to all.
The diminishment of certain species, like bees and frogs, indicates a frightening imbalance in our natural world. Awareness of this breakdown has led to an upsurge in bee keeping worldwide. A CoSM friend has promised to train us to keep bees as early as next spring. As our species consciously evolves, the study of symbiosis as a fundamental law of nature provides a key to a sustainable future.

Weeks ago in our message, we shared documentation of frogs living in the CoSM reflecting pond. These amphibians are noticeably "in the moment" and observant of human visitors. The Mission of Art class at CoSM last weekend checked in on the frogs, who immediately hopped out to greet us, and members of the two species stared intently at one another. CoSM frogs appear to be gifted meditators, gurus on the principals of stillness and patience.

With love,


Allyson and Alex Grey