This may seem controversial for some, especially in today’s climate of political correctness. But I have always been the type of person who shoots from the hip with deadly accuracy, and whoever gets offended by what I say can simply deal with it. I do not expect to cancel others who offend me, so don’t expect to cancel me either. And, for the love of all that is good, please get off your soapbox and stop being offended on behalf of others you don’t even know. That is the height of warped ego and self-importance right there. So, having said all that, here we go.
Humans have, for millennia, been travelers of the earth. We were all born here, and for thousands of years before borders were ever thought up as a “thing” we have lived and loved on this earth in many places. We belong to the earth. It is not the other way around. ALL of us belong to the earth. The earth is not specific about which of us belongs on Her and which of us does not. She sustains life for ALL of us, no matter what race, gender, sex, age or spiritual slant we are. She does not care about any of that. What She cares about is her children. It is rather unfortunate that not all of her children care about Her in the same way.
When I was born and for a number of years after that I often felt displaced. You know those people who hope that the Mother Ship will beam them up? I was one of those people for awhile. I did not feel like I belonged in my family, in my community, in any one religion. I felt like I was a stranger in my own world.
But what I found was that it was not my own world I was a stranger in. I was simply not fitting in with other people. I saw things differently and expressed things differently. When people would be egging me on to hate a particular person or group of people I would be saddened by the fact that they were making such an effort, because it said more about them than it did about me or the person/people they were wanting me to hate. Don’t get me wrong. It is not that I am incapable of hatred. I am human, after all. But someone has to pull some really shady stuff with me or someone I care about to get me there. But just hating for the sake of hating…no. Not me at all.
The only time I really felt connected was when I was out in the bush, hiking and exploring, communing with the trees, plants, birds and animals. I would make friends with them. I felt that I understood their language, even in an environment of clear cutting and ranching, both of which I found to be troublesome at times, even though farming was in my family’s blood. I always felt that there were ways in which we could live off the land without depleting all of its resources. But I was only a child and what do children know? Right?
Then my father decided that he was going to go completely organic in his grain and beef production. I felt that it was an excellent start. There were some challenges involved because this was way back in the ‘70’s and he was the first one to do this in Saskatchewan. Now it is quite popular, but would not be without the efforts and sacrifices of the forerunners. That is something that I often remind myself about considering my rather toxic relationship with my father. After all, nobody is 100% one thing or another. So when I have memories that are hurtful and sad about him, I remind myself of the insights and inspirations that he had when taking on this project. Of that I am proud.
When I moved away the second time to come to the Saskatoon area to attend university I was once again displaced. I am a city person, but I grew up on a farm and that is always in my blood. The traffic and the smells of city living and the massive NOISE of it all can still be overwhelming at times. I know, it is nothing compared to places like New York, but it is still noisy and disruptive. That is part of why I enjoy by back yard space. It tends to be quite peaceful.
Even though the adjustment was big when I moved, it still felt like I would not be returning to a farm life. But then how does one connect with the land? At one point in time when I was walking in the back 40 of an acreage that I owned, I was appreciating the fact that I had a piece of nature right there all around me. And the land spoke to me. It said to me, “I have always known you. You belong.” This hit me hard. The land always knew me. Even when I have lived in a 20 story high rise, the land knew me. Even when I have been shopping for houses to own over the years, the land always knew me. This is why I make such strides in creating beautiful outdoor spaces. The land knows me. It knows I care for it, and it communicates what it does and does not want in particular areas. I will always go with what the land wants over what I might prefer. After all, I am living on the earth’s sacred body. Who am I to try to tell Her what is happening? No, I prefer to wait for Her suggestions and instructions and then go with that.
The fact of the matter is that one can live in a concrete jungle and STILL be part of the land. People often mistake “living off the land” with being out in the farthest reaches of nature and chopping wood, hauling water, taking human waste out to the bush to dump and so on. As one of the youngest pioneers (I use that term because for years we didn’t have running water and relied on wood stoves to heat our home) I totally get the amount of work involved in roughing it out in nature like our ancestors had to. This is something that ALL of our ancestors have had to do, no matter where they resided on our sacred Earth. But when we live in the city we are also living off the land. It is a bit displaced in terms of actually growing our own food (which I think we all need to strive to do), but whenever we go to a supermarket we are also living off the land, thanks to the hard work and dedication of farmers all around the world. I only hope that the prices I pay compensate them fairly.
Living off the land is about more than just food. It is also about appreciation and gratitude and how we approach nature. For example, five years ago I found a Rowan tree growing between our deck and the fence that we share with our neighbors. It was close to the corner of our house and absolutely had to move. I am not the type, especially with trees, to just yank it out of the earth and put it into a compost bin. I looked at this sapling and said, “Oh! Welcome to the world! I have to find you a more appropriate location to spread your branches!” I surveyed our back yard and checked with my partner if he had any objections to the possible location, which he did not. And so it was settled. I moved the young sapling and now, five years later, it is growing tall and spreading its branches and providing shade in a perfect location. Whenever I am out in the back yard I do say hello to Rowan and it energetically smiles back at me. It also enjoys sharing space with a Pussy Willow tree that was a gift from a friend and planted a couple of years before the Rowan. Together they create a beautiful canopy in our yard. Whenever I plant and care for perennials and annuals I still ask what location they would prefer and if they are alright with sharing space with each other. That way they will thrive and not feel challenged by their neighbors in a bed or pot. With the short growing season that we have, I like to maximize the amount of life and color in our yard and deck area. That way we are able to get the most out of the season.
Yes, we do everything we can with composting, reusing and recycling. We do this not because the City has instituted programs, but because it is a more balanced way of honoring the land. It distresses me when I see evidence of people taking bags of garbage to just beyond the city limits and dumping them in a ditch. The height of ignorance and laziness is expressed in horrible acts such as this. A complete lack of awareness as well as a complete disregard of Mother Nature is leading people to teaching their children to act in these incredibly horrible ways. We do have landfills. And not using them properly is ignorant at best and completely moronic at worst.
One of the things I enjoy the most in Nature is sitting quietly and listening to the wind in the trees. I find it incredibly relaxing. Add to that the sound of the songbirds and I am basically in heaven. If we allow ourselves to listen, really listen, we can actually hear Nature speaking to us. “I have always known you. You belong.”