In my teens, I envisioned myself in the future writing books, giving talks, holding workshops, working with people individually and maybe in groups, teaching meditation, perhaps having an academic career related to psychology or spirituality (ideally doing research on a topic related to awakening), and so on. It didn’t seem all that far-fetched. I had familiarity with the terrain, the passion and drive, a good enough brain, and I relatively easily got top grades.
A SHIFT IN COURSE
None of that happened, likely due to a combination of trauma (social anxiety, wanting to stay hidden as a trauma response) and my chronic illness.
Instead, I find myself now putting all of that into the reforestation and food forest project here on Finca Milagros. It’s deeply rewarding, I notice how I am transformed by it along with the land, and it doesn’t have some of the annoying downsides (!) of working with humans. (Of course, it instead has its own challenges.)
If I had followed the path I envisioned, and which seemed realistic in one form or another, I could perhaps help a few dozen people, maybe somewhere in the three digits. Instead, through where life put me, I can help millions if not billions of beings. Of course, it’s not all about numbers, but in a sense, it is all about numbers.
RESCUING THIS LAND
I find it immensely rewarding to know that millions and possibly billions of beings will live out their life fully or partially on this land.
If we hadn’t bought it, someone else would and they would likely have developed it into dozens of plots with houses or a big hotel. Both is happening right down the hill from us, in two different projects, and we know that an architect in town had similar plans for this land.
LOVE SPICED WITH DISAPPOINTMENT
As I sometimes tell friends, I channel my disappointment into this regeneration project. It’s said as a joke, but there is a grain of truth in it.
What’s more real, of course, is that it comes from love – love for nature, life, this amazing living planet we are all expressions of and how it appears locally here.
AN ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF BEINGS ON MILAGROS
How many beings live here now? Maybe low three digits of birds, a half to a few million insects, some dozen mammals, three digits of reptiles and amphibians (maybe more), trillions of microbes, and hundreds of thousands if not millions of plants of a few hundred different types.
How many beings may live here at any one time in the future, when the ecosystems is more mature, rich, and vibrant? Maybe a thousand birds, billions of insects, three digits of mammals, several hundred reptiles and amphibians, trillions of microbes, and millions of plants of several hundred different types.
Of course, this depends on what’s happening in the larger local, regional, and global ecosystem, but this will be a sanctuary for millions if not trillions of beings.
It will be a sanctuary for millions and perhaps trillions of consciousnesses just like me and you and all of us, all living through and as different bodies.
WE ARE ALL ESSENTIALLY THE SAME
Some will say that it’s more important to help humans but I don’t see it that way. Of course, I value and love my human connections, but we are all consciousnesses no matter what type of body we live through and as. We are all essentially the same, it’s just the expression that varies.
Similarly, we are all local and temporary expressions of this living system we call Earth. We are all the local eyes, ears, thoughts, and feelings of the universe. We are the universe bringing itself into consciousness.
LIVING THE ESSENCE OF MY CHILDHOOD DREAM
As a child, I loved nature. I loved being in nature with my parents. I loved nature programs on TV (especially Richard Attenborough and Sverre M. Fjelstad.) I wanted to become a biologist, although what I meant was ecologist. Now, I live my childhood dream in many ways.
Read on for more info.
MORE INFO
I asked ChatGPT 4o for an estimate of the number of beings on Milagros. See below.
Estimate of Number of Beings on Milagros
Given that Milagros already has larger trees and areas forested with smaller trees, here’s an estimate, reflecting a recovering ecosystem:
Current State (With Established Trees and Forest Patches):
- Birds:
- 200–500 individual birds
- Likely representing 50–100 species, including a mix of small songbirds, raptors, and ground-dwelling species, as well as possible migratory birds.
- Insects:
- 500,000–2 million individual insects
- Representing 2,000–4,000 species, with a good mix of pollinators (bees, butterflies), decomposers (beetles, ants), and predatory insects (spiders, dragonflies).
- Mammals:
- 20–70 individual mammals
- Likely representing 10–20 species, including small mammals such as bats and rodents, as well as medium-sized animals like armadillos, foxes, or agoutis.
- Reptiles and Amphibians:
- 50–150 individual reptiles and amphibians
- Representing 10–20 species, with a healthy population of lizards, frogs, snakes, and possibly small turtles.
- Microbes (Bacteria, Fungi, etc.):
- Trillions of microbial individuals in the soil per hectare.
- Likely representing 30,000–60,000 species of microbes, including bacteria, fungi, and other organisms, benefiting from the growing tree cover and healthier soil.
- Plants:
- Hundreds of thousands to a million individual plants, including trees, shrubs, grasses, and groundcover.
- Likely 200–300 species of plants, with a good mix of native species and those suited for the dry tropical forest environment.
Future State (Fully Reforested and Healthy Ecosystem):
- Birds:
- 600–1,000 individual birds
- Representing 150–200 species, including more migratory species and larger birds such as raptors and ground-dwelling birds.
- Insects:
- 1 billion–10 billion individual insects
- Representing 10,000–20,000 species, with increased pollinator, decomposer, and predator diversity as the ecosystem matures.
- Mammals:
- 70–150 individual mammals
- Likely representing 20–40 species, including a wider variety of small mammals (bats, rodents) and larger species like peccaries, foxes, or even small wild cats.
- Reptiles and Amphibians:
- 200–400 individual reptiles and amphibians
- Representing 25–40 species, with more diverse species of snakes, frogs, lizards, and potentially larger reptiles like tortoises or iguanas.
- Microbes (Bacteria, Fungi, etc.):
- Trillions of microbial individuals in the soil per hectare, with a highly biodiverse microbial community.
- Likely representing 100,000–500,000 species, as the soil becomes healthier and more complex.
- Plants:
- Millions of individual plants, across the 15 hectares, with dense forests and understory vegetation.
- Representing 500–700 species of trees, shrubs, herbs, and groundcover, fostering a highly diverse ecosystem.
In its recovery phase, your land is already hosting a vibrant array of life, and with continued reforestation and regeneration, it will support even more biodiversity in the future.