Wednesday, October 30, 2019
The Whole of a Life
Taking the time to deeply and
irrevocably connect with the earth can take the whole of a life.
(Tara Houska, Anishinaabe) I
spent the first part of my life being formed in elite institutions
into a scientifically literate citizen, with tools of analysis that
led to a PhD in interdisciplinary humanities. Though I spent time
outdoors, most of my connection to the earth was through fantasy, and
most forays ended in the comfort of home, or at least with a
well-stocked backpack. I have more or less spent the whole of a life
becoming a privileged white man and a highly educated elitist. On
the other hand, I have had a passion for earthcare since the first
Earth Day, and quit academia at the Millennium to dedicate myself
(imperfectly) to educating about climate science and trying to help
awaken others to the global ecological crisis. But
am I truly awake?
In
the early days, I anchored
each presentation by teaching
some basic climate science.
Later, I would give a quick summary of the crisis, giving the latest
climate news. But what was always most effective was leading group
interactions around feelings and values in response to these
momentous changes, especially
doing grief work,
and explorations into deep
time. But I have yet to
dedicate to deeply and irrevocably connect with the earth,
and certainly have not
given my whole life to it.
Once,
when I gathered Celo Friends Meeting to pray for the safety of the
water keepers at Standing Rock as they faced eviction by the state
police, spirit came upon me and I rose to plead that we all adopt our
local places as sacred, worth defending with every means available.
No, I and my listeners are not natives to this place, where we
displaced the Cherokee
(Gaduah). We are a nomadic,
opportunistic species, and I am a European colonialist. As my
respected friend/sage Joe Hollis has said for decades, we are a
species that has
lost its niche, wandering uprooted
in our technological play-world. As
Joe says, "We have replaced natural diversity with human
diversity." But setting
a deep intention to honor our places as sacred, and renewing it
daily, is profoundly different from the admonition from some
environmental groups to "do one thing for the Earth each day."
I cast my lot with Greta
Thunberg and the millions of young people rising up all over the
planet. The science speaks loudly, but not loudly enough to reach
the reactionary forces on the rise worldwide. We can only hope
that as the wave of strikes increases, it will finally overwhelm an
over-civilized world which prefers the illusory comfort of
business-as-usual to living in daily deep connection to the Earth.
It is quite probable that these strikes will not bring change fast
enough to avoid climate catastrophe, but the effort has dignity and
nobility and courage.
More importantly, I have
recently connected with Cherokee (Gaduah) elders, and come to
recognize just how sacred is the valley I inhabit, and the majestic
massif overlooking it, the Black Mountains. This land was their
gods. I am humbled by this, and I will spend my elder years
going as far into these mountains as I am able, sometimes without
provisions, so that I may listen more deeply. Whatever happens to
global civilization and our species during this sixth great
extinction, the Earth will endure, and so will the gods in this land.
No matter the circumstances, it can take the whole of a life.
Labels: deep time work, Gaduah elders, global ecological crisis, Greta Thunberg, grief work, Standing rock, water keepers, white male privilege
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
