Trail Hiker Seeking Wisdom

Relationships are what make life worth living. Human connection and understanding are what can get us through our toughest times. As we hike through this journey called life, we make lots of connections with the human world as well as the natural world. A few months ago, I was teaching about the ecological relationships we see in the natural world. Symbiosis-- the interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association --drives the ecosystem. We break down these relationships into mutualistic, commensal, or parasitic. Ecologists break them down by the positive and negative relationships they create. Mutualism brings a positive effect for both organisms. Commensalism brings a positive effect for one and a neutral effect for the other organism. Parasitic is a positive effect for the parasite and a negative for the host.  I had dinner with a great friend a few weeks ago and we talked about the concept of "filling our bucket". Every time we meet, I walk a