“I am the Light that is above them all, I am the All, the All came forth from me and the All attained to me. Cleave a piece of wood, I am there;lift up a stone and you will find me there.” ~Jesus (from the Gospel of Thomas)

    This statement by Jesus is very similar to the one he made at the last supper where he said that the wine was his blood and the bread was his body. The above quote, however, makes it clear that Jesus didn't mean that he had magically turned wine into his blood or miraculously changed bread into human flesh. What it means is that the Christ spirit is in all, is part of all and is the power that created all. It's a hierarchy. God created Christ, Christ created the rest of the spiritual worlds. Even the parts of the spiritual universe that were altered by the fallen angels and slowed into becoming the physical universe retain some of that spirit in them so, in that way, Christ remains in all that exists. And since the Christ spirit is very much alive, it makes sense that everything the Christ spirit is in is alive also.

“O hidden life vibrant in every atom;
O hidden life shining in every creature;
O hidden life embracing all in oneness; ...” ~Annie Besant

    So life exists in everything, even the simple atom, and atoms make up everything that exists in the physical world, therefore everything is alive. Rocks, rivers, clouds, they are alive just as trees and fish and humans are alive. And, since the spirit of Christ is in all of them, they all deserve proper reverence. This is not to say that you should worship rocks or bears, but that you should treat all of existence with respect.