Our elders say that ceremonies are the way we "remember to remember"... (Robin Wall Kimmerer*)
Every traditional wisdom system I've come into contact with includes a close relationship with Nature as a requirement for health and happiness.
How do we renew that relationship in the industrialized world?
The systems we've built make it impossible to connect like we used to. Think of what would have to change in order for you to connect with your food and supplies at all levels of production - to have an opportunity to feel gratitude for the gift of each individual plant, animal, and natural resource and to make sure not too much is taken.
It's not just a question of time spent in blue and green spaces, it's a question of whether or not we regularly witness our dependence on the natural world (and its dependence on us). It's about having the awareness necessary to exercise life-sustaining reciprocity and gratitude.
I wonder how much of the loneliness, the longing, the imbalance and inequity, the malnourishment, and the physiological dysregulation is a result of losing our relationship with Nature?
This is obviously a problem that requires a large-scoping solution. But for you and I, if we wish to repair our bond with the natural world now, I think we begin by creating regular ceremonies. For instance:
A family proclamation (or prayer) of thanksgiving to Nature everyday before breakfast. My family has been enjoying the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address.
An offering to the Earth, such as the first ladle of soup, each evening before dinner.
A song for salmon or a dance in the garden... I don't think we need to worry whether or not our ceremonies carry the weight of tradition, divine mandate, or some ritual magic.
Remembering to remember is the point.
*Robin Wall Kimmerer is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, a Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology and founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at SUNY, and author of Braiding Sweetgrass.
Comments