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“Everything we put in our mouths, everything that allows us to live, is the gift of another life.”
Have you ever thought about this?
Our connection to nature
This quote from one of my favorite book – Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer- deeply touched my heart. I always had this awareness especially regarding animals but funnily I didn’t think about plants giving their life for me to live until I read this book of indigenous wisdom.
Growing up in a city in an apartment on the ninth floor made me quite disconnected from the natural world. My windows looked at the nearby steel factory and the light pollution made the stars difficult to see. The flow of my life followed my school and work schedule instead of the sun, the moon and the circadian rhythm. Sadly for a long time I wasn’t even aware of what I am missing out on.
Many years later I went to the Amazon jungle. It was my first encounter with raw nature. Before I thought that can’t survive without electricity, plumbing and technology. It surprised me to realize how nature provides everything you can possibly need to live. It took me a while to let go of my fear of nature. The first couple of nights I couldn’t sleep in the jungle because I was scared of every noise and imagined a jaguar will jump into my half open room and eat me while I am sleeping. So silly. But I was programmed by the Hollywood movies and believed that nature is dangerous and it is out there to get me.
The healing power of nature
Working with plant medicines started to clear all those fears and helped me to reconnect with nature and our Mother Earth. Now the Earth wasn’t just a picture in my head but it became a living connected web that I was integral part of. I started to feel held and nurtured by the Earth. I started to feel safer in nature than I felt in my city apartment. And I started to realize my own responsibility as part of the Earth and all living things.
Until that point I thought nature is there to take from. It never occurred to me that I should give something back in return. In my arrogance and ignorance I felt I have a right to take what I want because I am a human and therefore superior to plants and animals.
When I became more open and willing, nature and plants started to teach me about the right relationships and here is what I learnt and still keep learning. Everything is conscious and alive. Humans are not superior to nature but an integral and equal part. Everything that comes from nature is a gift and should be treated accordingly. Nature is not scary, it is our home, food, shelter and protection. Healing yourself naturally heals your relationship with Mother Earth. Reciprocity is the foundation for balance, peace and harmony for all living beings. When we take way more than we need, than what we give back, we destroy the very foundation of life on this planet.
A long time ago we remembered all this and more. Some indigenous people still carry these seeds of wisdom. It’s time that we all start to remember also and open our ears and our hearts to those who still know. If we don’t, we will destroy everything that is worth living for.
The honorable harvest
I invite you to join us in remembering and practicing sacred reciprocity and follow again the principles of honorable harvest as described in Braiding Sweetgrass.
The honorable Harvest
“Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them. Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life. Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer. Never take the first. Never take the last. Take only what you need. Take only that which is given and treat it with respect. Never take more than half. Leave some for others. Harvest in a way that minimizes harm. Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken. Share. Give thanks for what you have been given. Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken. Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.“
I know that it’s not easy to follow these principles in our urban, civilized world but every journey starts with taking one step on the path. If you can apply even one of these principles you will do more than most people. And you can always give gratitude.
What are you grateful for?
