Although the physical reforestation we undertake is, of course, important, it is secondary to healing the sacred relationship between people and Mother Earth. The loss of the sacred stems from the mistaken belief that we are separate—from Nature, from each other, from anything.
The ceremonial dances at Ringbalin were about the river ecosystem and how the people would have found sustenance from it. Ngarrindjeri elder Uncle Moogy spoke about how the creatures are seen in their culture as Naatchi, meaning their friends...
The systems which keep all other organisms in check don’t work with us. Why? Why are we overpowering the systems of checks and balances which keep everyone else in check, in harmony with the biosphere. We will eventually be kept in check, of course, but why at such a cost to the entire Earth community?
...it's hard to be part of this fossil fuel poisoning, which, ultimately, is a collective suicide. I wish I knew how to save our species, but nobody could save Mr. Stone, or the classmate our daughter lost in high school, or the family friend who left the note pinned to his shirt.
The systems which keep all other organisms in check don’t work with us. Why? Why are we overpowering the systems of checks and balances which keep everyone else in check, in harmony with the biosphere. We will eventually be kept in check, of course, but why at such a cost to the entire Earth community?
A few centuries ago we woke up to the fact that the world was not flat, but a sphere; and we realized the earth had always been a sphere, even while we had thought it flat. So now we are awakening to the realization that humanity is one whole society, one global economy, one family of beings in a shared environment.
These writers do not tell us that receiving the gift of tears means we remain in a state of mourning. If we can, we need to keep walking. If we haven’t already done so, we need to articulate what is dear to us, what it is in the natural world that we truly love.
Arbor Day of this year, April 26th, a 40-foot Black Cherry tree fell on top of our brand-new electric vehicle while we were driving along a city street. The car was wrecked, totaled. My friend and I survived —alive and unscratched.
