Inevitable Grace

High in the canopy, above the wide muddy river that winds its sluggish way through the tangle of Bornean forest, an orangutan mother enjoys her first feed of the new day. Unbothered by the boat's noisy outboard motor which throbs below, she plucks her leafy breakfast from the tree with long dark fingers. Unaware of the dwindling virgin forest and the encroachment of palm oil plantations, she trusts in nature’s ample sufficiency. Moving slowly, deliberately, her languid limbs reach from one branch to the next. Each gesture unfolds from the last with inevitable grace. She is pure self-possession. 

What strikes me in this moment of encounter, with heart-breaking force, is our ungraciousness. We humans share 97% of our DNA with orangutangs. Yet unlike our forest cousin, it seems we have lost faith in there being enough. Enough time. Enough nourishment. Enough for everyone. Compelled by fear of insufficiency, we move quickly to grab, to extract and to plunder. 

A well of longing laced with grief rises in me. How on earth did we fall so far from grace?

Humans share 97% of their DNA with Orangutans